With todays announcement that foreign travel may now resume there is still some concern around the restrictions that will accompany its re-start.
Chairman of ANITA Damian Murphy when asked about the news said: “Overall I am taking todays news as one of hope and optimism. At the minute full details have still to be published but for the first time in 12 months we have heard the Transport Secretary Mr Grant Shapps MP make a positive comment about foreign travel – when he says that people can now think about booking a holiday.
“We wont know until early May which places will be on the green list and we await further clarification on exactly how the testing programme will work. We know that certain measures are needed to re-start foreign travel but it is essential that the cost of testing is dramatically reduced and we are calling on the Transport Secretary to look at this. Going forward we hope that anyone who is fully vaccinated will not have to test at all and this is probably the best we can hope for in the near future. Travel will carry a few more restrictions for a while and we as travel agents are best placed to help people understand travel requirements.
“As the rest of the economy starts to re-open so travel must re-open as well and it is really important that we get it right this time. The process needs to move forward at a steady and safe pace but also one that is irreversible. We have basically been closed now for over a year and while todays news is positive we still have a long way to go and further financial assistance from our Executive is essential.”
