The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said the “international travel sector is in the last chance saloon for the summer season” and is calling on the government to relax travel restrictions to allow businesses to try and “salvage any opportunity to trade their way towards recovery this year”.
John Foster, CBI Policy Director, said: “The international travel sector is in the last chance saloon for the summer season.
“Restrictions must be relaxed if beleaguered businesses are to salvage any opportunity to trade their way towards recovery this year. The UK’s successful vaccine rollout, coupled with lessons learned throughout the pandemic, offer genuine opportunity for more travel to resume safely.
“Rebuilding passenger confidence will be key. Establishing simple, consistent rules and communicating them clearly is essential.”
The Department for Transport agreed with Mr Fosters comments, urging a “timely reopening of international travel” and says the government are trying to seek a “balance”.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “We recognise this is a challenging period for the sector, as we seek to balance the timely reopening of international travel while safeguarding public health and protecting the vaccine rollout.”
