Travel bosses are fighting back against claims by a group of MPs that curbs on overseas trips should continue to prevent new variants of Covid-19 entering the UK.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Coronavirus called on Boris Johnson's Government to advise against all but essential overseas travel and step up border controls.
The group's report called for current strict rules to continue after May 17 to reduce the risk of a “deadly third wave” and further lockdowns.
Group chair, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, said: “It is staggering that the government is even contemplating encouraging overseas holidays when airports are already struggling to keep the virus and new variants at bay.
But the report has been labelled 'baseless' and politicians accused of being 'out of touch' by the boss of a leading travel group.
Danny Callaghan, chief executive of the Latin American Travel Association ( lata.travel ), said: “It is extremely disappointing but, sadly, not surprising, to see the APPG for Coronavirus is suggesting that the Government should do everything it can do to discourage foreign travel for the rest of the year without also recognising that there are sectors that would require substantial financial support in that instance.
"This blatant refusal to recognise the economics of the pandemic in search of an unachievable zero-Covid strategy is something that just demonstrates how out of touch with reality some parliamentarians are.
"Their statement has no factual basis, given the current science on testing and vaccinations, and instead is a baseless opinion that undermines the huge amount of work going on to restart our economy and safely resume travel.
"Fortunately there are plenty of MPs who don't want to see wholesale business failures in the travel, tourism, hospitality and aviation sectors and who do recognise the importance of our sectors to aspirations of a Global Britain, and I thank them wholeheartedly for that.”
