Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “WTTC believes it is vital for countries to work together to enable seamless travel throughout the pandemic - and beyond.
“With lower infection rates than much of the EU, there are compelling reasons why the UK should be added to the EU’s ‘safe travel’ list, to enable international travel to continue. British travellers are a major contributor to European economies, and vice versa. UK visitor numbers make up the biggest proportion of inbound travellers to many major EU countries, such as Spain, Portugal and Cyprus.
“While WTTC welcomes maintaining basic air connectivity in the event of a no-deal, six months is not enough for airlines, travel agents and travel companies up and down the country to plan for the all-important summer holiday season, upon which so many jobs depend.
“Suffocating international travel is counterproductive and benefits no one. We should be building stronger ties to support mutual economic growth and more opportunities for the already struggling Travel & Tourism sector, which has been hammered by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”