Industry leaders have welcomed Scotland’s decision to ease quarantine requirements for fully-vaccinated travellers returning from amber list destinations from July 19.
However, they called for a more consistent approach to future decisions and action on testing costs and travel advice.
Jacqueline Dobson, president of Barrhead Travel, said: “We are really pleased to hear that Scotland will move in tandem with England’s plans to remove the need for fully vaccinated travellers to quarantine on their return from amber destinations. It is particularly encouraging to see this move in time for the last few weeks of the summer school holidays.
“At this crucial stage in recovery, it is vital that the UK continues to adopt a four-nations approach and we hope that future decisions about outbound travel are not as fragmented and disjointed as we have seen over this last year.”
She added: “It’s not just welcome news for the industry – tens of thousands of holidaymakers and those travelling to reunite with loved ones will be relieved that they can travel to a number of countries without worrying about quarantine when they return home.
“Relieving travellers of the need to quarantine will undoubtedly help build back confidence. The two key areas of concern from those travelling abroad were of quarantine on return and cost of testing. Breaking down the barriers of one of these issues is therefore a step in the right direction to restoring consumer confidence.”
Joanne Dooey, president of the SPAA, said: “The first minister’s announcement today is undoubtedly good news. We expect that enquiries will increase now for summer holidays, but operators and airlines will require time to rearrange packages so it’s unlikely that the travel agent tills will be ringing later today.”
Dooey added: “This is good news, not just for the travel industry. Our recent survey showed that, for every single summer flight which was grounded, the Scottish economy lost £38k in retail spend on holiday items, not including taxi fares, duty free, food and drinks at airports on departure day. The whole Scottish economy needs the boost which international outbound travel brings.
“However, we still need a comprehensive plan for how the travel sector can return fully. Outbound tourists may be worth £1.466billion to Scotland, but inbound visitors are far more valuable to our whole country, especially to some of our remotest communities which depend on seasonal visitor spend.”
An Abta spokesperson said: “It is welcome that self-isolation restrictions will ease on 19 July for fully vaccinated individuals returning to Scotland from amber list countries, but the first minister must urgently review the ongoing advice against ‘non-essential’ international travel.
“It sends mixed signals to people who need a much-deserved break or long to see their friends and family abroad. While this advice remains, confidence to travel from Scotland will remain low and further financial support must be given to travel agents and tour operators, who continue to face the toughest trading conditions of all sectors.”
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said: “This is a positive step forward that will provide much more opportunity for families to travel this summer season, and offer greater certainty and reassurance to our passengers looking to get away.
“It must, however, in short time be accompanied by further progress on the green list, opening up many more countries to quarantine-free travel for everyone, as well as testing – with the Scottish government providing more and cheaper options for post-arrival tests. Travel this summer must be within reach and affordable for all, not just the wealthy.”
Jet2 chiefvexecutive Steve Heapy said: “News that the Scottish government is allowing fully vaccinated holidaymakers to travel to amber list countries without having to quarantine is very welcome news and is another positive step forward, both for customers and the travel industry.
“It finally signals a meaningful restart to international travel and allows our customers to enjoy flights and holidays from Scotland to a wide choice of green and amber list destinations this summer, rather than having just a handful to choose from.
“As the largest tour operator in Scotland, we will be restarting flights and holidays from Edinburgh and Glasgow airports to amber list destinations from 19th July onwards.
“Our teams have worked tirelessly to look after customers and independent travel agent partners in Scotland throughout the pandemic. We have built up a huge amount of trust thanks to our approach and now, more than ever, holidaymakers will be choosing to travel with a company that looks after them. We are looking forward to a very busy summer, flying customers away to their favourite destinations across Europe, the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands.”