WTTC responds to the UK government’s focus on 10-day quarantines for travellers from ‘high risk’ countries

Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO, said: “WTTC is implacably opposed to quarantines as while protecting the public is paramount, there needs to be a balance struck between health and economic priorities.

“These latest government proposals, to impose a 10-day hotel quarantine on those UK inbound travellers originating from so-called ‘high-risk’ countries, will still cause enormous damage to the Travel & Tourism sector. 

“We firmly believe testing on departure and arrival for all travellers is the only way to halt the spread of the virus in its tracks, while still allowing negative testing passengers to travel in safety and restore international mobility. We will continue to urge the government to abandon ineffective and highly destructive quarantines.

“The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and many other major international organisations do not recommend quarantines, as they are an ineffective public health measure. Community transmission poses a far greater peril than international travel.

“The government must be transparent about the metric used to label a country as ‘high risk’. It is also vital we have a clear exit strategy and more details on its testing on arrival policy, which was introduced just last week.

“Together, these will enable travellers, holidaymakers and businesses across the Travel & Tourism sector to be confident there is a clear road map for the return of international travel.”