AITO welcomes relaxation of travel testing rules
Says AITO Executive Director, Martyn Sumners: “We are pleased and encouraged to see that the Government, finally, has taken the long-overdue step to reverse the test to return regime.
“We are also delighted that Government has abolished the PCR test on day two for fully-vaccinated travellers and replaced it with a lateral flow test; this was AITO’s recommendation in response to the last Global Travel Task force report.
“Consumer confidence will undoubtedly be bolstered by the relaxation of these rules, and it will unquestionably help the economy if the travel industry is allowed to trade without restrictions.
“The Government should now work on a solid plan to ensure that the travel sector can operate without any further obstacles.
“We ask the Government to sanction financial support for the travel industry, ie tour operators and travel agents, if - going forward - it should it be necessary to impose any further restrictions. We are now close to the third year of the pandemic and our industry has been hammered to the Nth degree. Furlough helped – but furlough has now long been stopped, and travel companies earn no money until customers have departed on their trips. With precious few would-be travellers having gone on holiday in the past two years, we can simply take no more without much-needed Government support until we are able, finally, to trade our way out of the current parlous situation.”
