Travel Weekly webcast: Senior figures from Abta, UKinbound and the Business Travel Association Continued from page 40


has been pretty engaged. It hasn’t moved as quickly as we would like, but a lot of that is based on the information that has to be gathered. “There is work going on


to come up with solutions. It’s important people understand there are constantly suggestions and ideas, with industry talking to government the whole time. Some work and some don’t. There is no single solution.” The government has


settled into a weekly process of reviewing Foreign Office advice and the travel corridors list of countries free of quarantine restrictions. Deer noted: “There is a


weekly review process where the expert group looks at the epidemiology and then officials look at the advice and that goes to ministers for discussion.” But she warned: “We


shouldn’t be complacent and think things could not happen between the reviews. We can’t assume it will purely be weekly if there is a significant spike in a destination.” Deer denied the government


may have signalled a restart of travel too soon given the subsequent changes to Foreign Office advice and the quarantine- exempt list of countries. She said: “Do I think the


government did it too early? No. At the time we were looking at a restart, Europe was two, three, four weeks ahead of us. We followed after because of where we were in our domestic lockdown. Great consideration was given to what was happening. We can see that from the fact the global travel advice is still in place with exemptions.”


‘Tell us the full criteria for quarantine decisions’


Travel industry leaders want greater transparency about UK government decisions on quarantine restrictions. They warn partial knowledge


of the decision-making process is feeding media speculation and damaging people’s confidence to travel or book a holiday. Abta director of industry relations


Susan Deer described the speculation “focused on case numbers” as “not helpful”. Speaking on a Travel Weekly webcast, Deer said: “There are a range of factors being considered [by the government]. We know some of them but we don’t know all of them. The speculation focused on case numbers is unhelpful and does damage consumer confidence. “Consumers see this constant


speculation about which countries are going to come off the [quarantine- exempt] list without knowing the criteria that go along with that. That is why transparency on all the criteria would be helpful. At the moment, everybody is focused on one factor


Abta’s Deer backs government’s two Covid travel lists


Foreign Office advice and the Department for Transport’s ‘travel corridors’ list of countries differ for good reasons, according to Abta director of industry relations Susan Deer, who leads discussions with the FCO. There has been widespread


criticism of the variation between 38 27 AUGUST 2020


Clive Wratten


Travel Weekly’s Ian Taylor


Joss Croft


Susan Deer


Watch the webcast in full at go.travel weekly.co.uk/webcasts


and we know for certain it is not the only factor being considered.” Joss Croft, chief executive of the UKinbound association, agreed saying: “The focus on certain elements rather than the whole is dragging down consumer confidence. “Ultimately, you want all the medical advice and the dataset


the two, but Deer points out they are based on different criteria. She said: “The FCO advice and


travel corridors are looking at two different areas of risk. The FCO is focused on the risk to UK nationals abroad. The DfT and Home Office are looking at the risk of importing infection to the UK. Those are different things.” Deer said: “The epidemiology


and the number of cases per 100,000 that everybody is quoting at the moment form parts of it. But that is not the only consideration. The Foreign Office will also be looking


behind it published so people can take informed decisions. “It’s the perception of safety that


matters as much as the reality.” Croft said local lockdowns in


Manchester and Aberdeen “will be putting people off travelling to the whole of the UK”. Clive Wratten, chief executive


of the Business Travel Association, added: “Advance notice of closing a market or introducing quarantine needs to be more transparent. When there is 36 hours’ notice, it just breeds concern.”


Susan Deer


at the public health capability in the area, in case of an outbreak and people need medical support. “They will also be looking at the


transport available and the capacity to bring UK nationals back.”


travelweekly.co.uk


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