Joanne Dooey, president of The Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association (SPAA), the professional body for travel agents and the travel sector in Scotland says of the First Minister’s announcement today,
“The First Minister’s announcement today is undoubtedly good news. It means that Scottish families will be able to travel back from amber countries without having to quarantine for 10 days, as long as they have been double vaccinated and take a test on day two after their return.
“We expect that enquiries will increase now for summer holidays, but operators and airlines will require time to rearrange packages so it’s unlikely that the travel agent tills will be ringing later today.
“This is good news, not just for the travel industry. Our recent survey showed that, for every single summer flight which was grounded, the Scottish economy lost £38k in retail spend on holiday items, not including taxi fares, duty free, food and drinks at airports on departure day. The whole Scottish economy needs the boost which international outbound travel brings.
“However, we still need a comprehensive plan for how the travel sector can return fully. Outbound tourists may be worth £1.466billion to Scotland, but inbound visitors are far more valuable to our whole country, especially to some of our remotest communities which depend on seasonal visitor spend.”
