The Business Travel Association has made a submission to the Government’s Global Travel Taskforce calling for the UK to lead the international community in implementing global standards on testing and health certification.
An announcement on the reopening of international travel is due on April 12 and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has also promised to share some insight into the Government’s plans on April 5.
It is believed the UK will implement a traffic-light system ranking countries on rates of Covid-19 infection, vaccination, testing and the prevalence of variants.
Alongside the call to lead testing and certification, the BTA has made a number of other recommendations, including:
- Removal of all quarantine requirements for business travellers
- Creation of business travel bilateral corridors
- Coverage of Red List countries under FCDO ‘all but essential travel’ advice
- A 72-hour window before any introduction of a country to a red list.
BTA CEO Clive Wratten said: “The UK’s advanced vaccination programme, highly skilled travel industry and position as an international transport hub sees it ideally placed to lead the recovery in international travel.
“We urge the Government to take a leadership position in developing robust and enduring standards, and practical and transparent measures, that will get global business travelling again.”
Suzanne Horner, BTA Chairwoman, added: “Business travel is a lifeblood of the UK economy and the Government must treat it as the necessity that it is, rather than a nice to have.
“The recommendations we have made in our submission reflect the business travel industry’s skills and experience, and we stand ready to work hand in hand with Government to quickly and effectively implement them.”
Earlier this month the BTA launched a campaign, Faces of Business Travel, to share business travel stories to help strengthen the economic argument for an effective roadmap back to travel.
Supported by The Business Travel Magazine, the campaign hopes to influence government and public understanding of business travel by focussing on the stories of people who travel for work.
