Today the Department of Transport announced a new testing strategy for passengers arriving into England to be introduced from 15 December.
The Test and Release strategy will reduce the current 14-day self-isolation period by up to two thirds on receipt of a negative COVID-19 test from a private provider after 5 days of isolation.
Joss Croft, CEO, UKinbound commented “Implementing testing after five days and reducing quarantine is a step in the right direction but the prospect of visitors having to self-isolate for any length of time will continue to significantly impede demand and therefore risk jobs in the UK’s valuable inbound tourism industry.
“Tourism is a competitive business, and when we can travel again, we need a best-in-class testing regime, negating the need for a lengthy self-isolation, otherwise competitors who do have these systems will reap the benefit. Tourism will be able to significantly aid the UK’s economic recovery but right now businesses are struggling to survive and until a more rigorous system is in place, international visitors will not return in numbers.
“The Government needs to provide a targeted resilience fund for inbound tourism businesses and access to grants from which they have previously been excluded, to ensure they can survive the winter.”
Further details can be found here.
