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An open letter to Boris Johnson from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has warned of £639m daily UK losses should international travel remain off limits in July.
The global tourism body told the prime minister that the UK faces up to £19.8bn worth of losses if international travel is delayed until August.
The WTTC has urged the Government to “avoid inflicting severe long-term damage” on the UK economy, as it claimed that 218,000 jobs in the sector are at risk of being lost.
Virginia Messina, senior vice president at the WTTC, said that “we simply can’t afford any further delay” as more businesses run the risk of going bust “which would result in more jobs losses”.
Signed by TUI, Silversea Cruises, The Travel Corporation, and others, the letter outlined four steps that the WTTC believes the Government needs to take to boost the travel and tourism sector.
Step one included the reopening of international travel without quarantine for vaccinated travellers, while step two consisted on the removal of PCR testing requirements for green list countries.
For step three, the body urged Government to require only one test from amber list destinations, while step four concluded that the return to international travel should be announced on 24 June and implemented by 19 July.
Messina added: “Only through these measures will the future be brighter for many and will we be able to achieve a long term, inclusive and sustainable recovery.
“The restoration of free cross-border mobility is essential to help drive the economic recovery from the pandemic.”
