The Specialist Travel Association (Aito) has hailed the easing of travel restrictions but called for the government to allow the sector to trade “without further obstacles”.
Agents and operators widely welcomed the government announcement on Wednesday (January 5), confirming the removal of its pre-departure test requirements for fully vaccinated passengers travelling into England.
PCR tests and self-isolation on arrival have also been scrapped in favour of a lateral flow test to be taken within 48 hours of arrival.
Martyn Sumners, Aito executive director, said: “We are pleased and encouraged to see that the government, finally, has taken the long-overdue step to reverse the test to return regime.
“Consumer confidence will undoubtedly be bolstered by the relaxation of these rules.
“The government should now work on a solid plan to ensure that the travel sector can operate without any further obstacles.”
He said if further restrictions are imposed in the future, the government should give financial support for agents and operators.
“We can simply take no more without much-needed government support until we are able, finally, to trade our way out of the current parlous situation,” he said.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps told BBC Breakfast on Thursday morning that, if a new variant of concern is identified, the PCR testing programme for international travel will be re-introduced in England.
“With Omicron, remember, we acted before it was even officially classed as a variant of concern,” he told viewers.
“We still have the red list. There are no countries on it right now but we have that facility on standby. Of course we will always act.”
“But I think also we need to move to a position where living with Omicron means that we are able to still travel and we are still able do business, visit family and…go on holiday, all of those things.”
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Lisa Henning, managing director of Inspire Group, echoed his comments, saying the announcement is “welcome news but comes too late”.
“All the uncertainty in December has had a huge impact on consumer confidence and this is unlikely to change in the immediate future, especially given the current rise in cases and subsequent media attention and coverage,” she warned.
“This move removes one barrier but there are still so many hurdles to negotiate.
“As an industry I am sure we will rally once more. We know there continues to be a huge appetite to travel so it’s down to us all to give consumers the confidence to book.”
Ailsa Pollard, chief executive of Dnata Travel Group (UK & Europe), said the easing of curbs “could be just the positive start to the 2022 that the travel industry needs”.
She added: “Our brands have seen demand and bookings increase day by day since Christmas, showing that confidence is returning to the British consumer.
“There have been many false dawns since this pandemic begun, but this is a sensible and timely move.
“There are some fantastic deals available, with many new measures in place to ensure customers can book with total confidence. At this critical time of year for the travel industry, let’s hope this means we can now get back to doing what we do better than anyone else in the world – selling holidays.”
Steve Witt, co-founder of Not Just Travel and The Travel Franchise, agreed that the move will prompt more bookings from holidaymakers.
“It’s great to see the government responding to the science quickly. This is a huge boost for the travel industry because it removes uncertainty and also any potential fears over the cost of testing. he said.
“Our social media accounts have seen a frenzy of activity. Since the announcement not only have bookings increased to their strongest level since the start of the year, booking values have also been really high, suggesting customers have been holding on to book until they felt more confident.”
The Telegraph reported that the changes were agreed by cabinet after Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, warned that Heathrow and British Airways had “plummeted down their respective league tables, that inbound tourism had lost £50 billion in the past year and that omicron cases had skyrocketed in Australia despite its travel restrictions”.
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