The UK’s travel restrictions are having a more damaging impact on its tourism industry, compared with other nations, figures show.
Spending by international visitors to Britain is forecast to drop nearly 50 per cent this year from 2020, the London-based World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) said.
This is making the UK “one of the worst performing countries in the world”, the council said.
The damning assessment of how the rules are affecting the ailing sector comes after the UK government rolled back another set of measures earlier this week.
The country’s red list of nations off-limits for non-essential travel was reduced to seven and testing requirements for fully-vaccinated travellers arriving in the UK were scaled back.
Ministers also agreed to accept vaccine certificates from dozens of countries, opening up travel for millions of people.
The WTTC said that the travel and tourism industry’s contribution to the UK’s economy may rise year-on-year by about 32 per cent in 2021, which is broadly in line with the rest of the global average.
But it argued that partial recovery is being driven by the boom in domestic holidays, which is not enough to achieve a full economic recovery and save millions of jobs under threat.
The WTTC branded UK testing and quarantine policies “destructive”, saying the rules have caused the country to trail the US and China when it comes to a recovery in tourism.
The group said the US and China are “set to see a rise in inbound international travel spending this year” but offered a more dismal outlook for Britain.
Julia Simpson, WTTC's president and chief executive, said travellers are deterred by expensive PCR tests, which have to be taken two days after arrival, regardless of vaccination status.
Grant Shapps, the UK’s transport secretary, last week said the government hopes to swap PCRs for less-expensive lateral flow tests in time for the school holidays on October 22.
Scraping mandatory PCRs could save families up to £200 ($272) per trip.
“WTTC research shows that while the global travel and tourism sector is beginning to recover, the UK continues to suffer big losses due to continuing travel restrictions that are tougher than the rest of Europe,” Ms Simpson said.
“Despite government announcements, the UK still has a red list, costly PCR tests and a requirement for day-two tests which simply put people off travel.
“Just as the world opens up, the UK has more requirements for the double vaccinated than our neighbours.”
The coronavirus crisis has led to the loss of about 307,000 tourism jobs in Britain.
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South and West: From a Notebook
Joan Didion
Fourth Estate
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
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How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
GAC GS8 Specs
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Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
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UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
