A date has been set for when holidays in the UK could begin as long as the spread of coronavirus is kept down.
On Wednesday (May 20) Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said that so-called staycations may be permitted this summer, in what would be a boost for Britons long trapped inside and the tourism industry.
Travel restrictions are likely to cause problems for people keen to travel abroad and airline services being significantly diminished.
But Mr Dowden raised hopes for holidays at home if the rate of infection, or R value, could be suppressed to avoid creating another surge in cases.
“I would love to get the tourism sector up as quickly as we possibly can. We’ve set this very ambitious plan to try and get it up and running by the beginning of July,” he told the Downing Street press conference.
“Clearly, we can only do it if it’s safe to do so because I think the worst thing for our tourism sector would be to start, then see the R rate rise out of control, see a second peak that overwhelms the NHS that we then have to slam on the brakes again.”
The Government is planning to impose a 14-day quarantine programme for anyone arriving in the UK from abroad, with an exception for those coming from Ireland.
But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has raised the prospects of “air bridges” with countries with similarly low infection rates avoiding the restriction.
The acting chief executive of the Visit Britain tourist board, Patricia Yates, warned MPs of multi-billion pound losses for the industry, but said that 2020 had to be the “year of domestic tourism”.
There is already some evidence this could be the case, with campsite booking website Cool Camping saying that Sunday was its strongest day for revenue since it began operating in 2006.
Mr Dowden said Boris Johnson, like himself, was a huge advocate for holidays within the UK.
“Believe me, when we get to the point when we can have British tourism back, perhaps apart from the Prime Minister you won’t get a bigger champion of the great British break than me,” the Culture Secretary said.
