The former UK boss of Thomas Cook has urged caution about further opening up of travel over the coming weeks but agrees that Brits should be able to go overseas.
Harriet Green appeared on Question Time on Thursday, which heard from the public about the “mixed messages” from ministers on travel and concerns about the Indian variant.
She was chief executive of the group’s UK division from July 2012 to November 2014, and was also chairman and chief executive of IBM Asia Pacific.
When asked if the borders should be closed, she said: “I think we have to look very carefully over the next couple of weeks at what is happening.
“There are countries that have done a tremendous job around the world who, in the last couple of weeks, have been forced into a lockdown situation because of the virus being transmitted through people who were vaccinated.”
But when pressed by host Fiona Bruce about abandoning trips abroad, she said: “I think those countries where all the requirements have been met, I think people should be allowed to travel abroad, yes.”
And when asked if the borders should have been closed earlier to arrivals from India, she said yes.
Green also addressed the mixed messaging from ministers on the traffic light system, saying: “The frustration and confusion and the sense of you can, you can’t really causes more harm than good.
“If I was the head of a travel company, I would be very frustrated, in terms of you have regulations, you have a change of traffic light system, you engage with certain vacations and certain approaches. There is real frustration.”
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