The Government’s decision at the end of last week on quarantine requirements for France is the latest in a long line of updates that fall outside of the original plan for the traffic light system. It is among several issues we have raised with Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary ahead of the strategic review of international travel requirements on 31 July. Changes like this, and others where the lack of transparency around decision making means there is no obvious reason for movement between the lists, are further setbacks for the industry and erode consumer confidence.
 
In the letter we also reiterated our calls for tailored financial support to help the sector through to recovery and outlined areas we needed to see progress on including adding more countries to the Green list and the proportionate use of testing when returning from these countries, resuming international cruise, and mutual recognition of vaccination certification systems.
 
Resources to help Members and customers
It’s not just the arrangements for returning to the UK that businesses and customers need to be aware of – the entry requirements for each destination vary from country to country, adding another layer of complexity.
 
ABTA is working very closely with destinations to get to the bottom of their specific entry requirements – seeking clarification when there is a gap in information or conflicting messages, as well as explaining the UK’s vaccination and testing regimes.
 
We are also providing Members with a range of tools and resources to help them stay on top of the latest developments, including ABTA’s COVID-19: Country listings, FCDO travel advice and UK inbound border entry rules guide. The guide lists of all the countries, any FCDO advice against travel, details of mandatory entry requirements and the traffic light category for each of the four UK nations. We also continue to provide operational bulletins and the COVID-19 situational update.
 
Through our Ready Steady Travel campaign we continue to advise customers on everything they need to know when travelling during the pandemic and there are resources available to help Members share this information with your customers. 

Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive