The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has warned against the imposition of further quarantine restrictions on UK visitors to the EU.
On Wednesday, German chancellor Angela Merkel told the German parliament that she would like to see every European country impose quarantine restrictions on UK travellers due to the threat of the Delta variant of Covid-19.
However, Virginia Messina, WTTC Senior Vice President, said: “WTTC is very concerned about reversing quarantine measures and would urge against EU states reimposing them on arriving British holidaymakers.
“With more than 60 per cent of British adults now fully vaccinated, they should be able to enjoy quarantine-free travel to the EU.
“Quarantines are not the most effective measure to curb the spread of COVID-19 and there is no need to reintroduce them especially given the increasing vaccination rates across Europe.
She added: “Imposing an EU-wide quarantine would extinguish any hopes of bringing back significant summer travel which is a critical season for most European markets. This would significantly damage these countries’ economies, such as Germany where the UK is the fourth largest source market.
“It would also deal a significant economic blow to countries such as Portugal, Spain, Cyprus and Malta where the UK is also the biggest source market – and Italy – where quarantines have recently returned for inbound British travellers.”
