Following the UK governments decision to include the Canary and Balearic Islands in the updated quarantine rules for British travellers returning from Spain, travel industry leaders have expressed concern and disappointment.
AITO chairman, Chris Rowles was highly critical of the government's approach to quarantine and compared UK COVID-19 statistics to those of Spain, Portugal and Greece: "A quick look at the statistics is damning. Spain?s COVID stats, considering its population of 46.75 million, are lower as a percentage of deaths per head of population than the UK?s dire position as the worst performer - by a considerable margin - in Europe.?
?We know only too well from our many attempted communications with the five ministries to which the travel industry reports that the government certainly doesn?t engage with us - or the wider travel industry - which is the reason that it has so much egg on its face at present," Mr Rowles continued. "We in travel very much don?t wish to put our customers, or anyone else, including host destinations, at risk ? quite the contrary. But looking at the figures above, one is led to think that it could certainly be more dangerous to stay in the UK than to travel to countries like Portugal and Greece, with their very low COVID figures and even lower death tolls per head of population."
Gary Lewis, CEO, The Travel Network Group (TTNG) echoed Mr Rowles' concerns: "We understand the health implications and keeping everyone safe is of course the number one priority, however the government should work with the travel industry, not against it. The statistics for the Balearic and Canary Islands are in no way representative of the increases in COVID cases in pockets of mainland Spain. A regional quarantine, or other measures such as testing through the airport, track and trace should be considered ? a blanket ban isn?t the answer. This guidance will have a catastrophic effect on consumer confidence and the potential negative knock-on effect for the travel industry is huge."
?We would ask that the Government urgently reconsiders the quarantine restrictions that have been put in place on the islands of Spain, so that travellers are exempt from the 14-day quarantine on their return from destinations such as the Balearics and Canary Islands. This change in Government advice will have huge ramifications on consumer confidence when it comes to booking travel to Spain, which along with its islands had been dominating in terms of bookings for the summer season," said Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO of the Advantage Travel Partnership. "As an industry we are well versed in acting with speed and agility, but we need to know in advance of key decisions so that we can communicate with our customers. This clear breakdown in communication between industry and government is perpetuating a lack of confidence in the travel industry which is vital for it to recover.?
