WTTC calls for intermittent quarantine measures to stop

JUST days after a new warning from ABTA stating the growing impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the outbound travel sector, Britain looks set to lose £22bn in international visitor spending.

The report undertaken by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) detailed a “worst case” scenario where up to three million jobs, which are dependent on the Travel and Tourism sector, could be lost.

The concerning figures have highlighted the problematic issues with the current global response to coronavirus through the use of intermittent lockdown and quarantine measures.

The WTTC predicts that the drop in spending would equate to £60m less per day being spent in the UK economy.

The numbers are based on a forecast that international visitor spending would fall by 78 per cent this year amid continuing uncertainty about travel restrictions designed to halt the spread of Covid-19.

The chief executive of the WTTC, Gloria Guevara, stated that she believed it “could take years to recover” from the current economic slump. The WTTC also believe that this could have widespread ramifications for London’s global position as a leader in business and leisure.

She added: “We urgently need to replace stop-start quarantine measures with rapid, comprehensive and cost-effective test and trace programmes at departure points across the country.

“This investment will be significantly less than the impact of blunt quarantines which have devastating and far-reaching socio-economic consequences.”

The WTTC firmly believe that, “Targeted test and tracing will also rebuild consumer confidence to travel.” They say that, “It will enable the restoration of vital ‘air corridors’ between countries and regions with similar Covid-19 case rates.”

The news comes as it has been estimated by ABTA that the outbound travel sector could lose up to 39,000 jobs.

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