Gary Lewis: Long-term plan needed to rebuild consumer confidence

Lewis said ministers must now consider alternatives to blanket quarantine measures, such as regional quarantines, airport testing and better track and trace procedures in lieu of simply enforcing country-wide restrictions at short-notice.

It comes after Spain’s quarantine-free travel corridor was revoked with just a few hours notice last month, followed by France, Malta and the Netherlands earlier in August.

On Thursday (20 August), transport secretary Grant Shapps confirmed in a tweet issued shortly after 5pm that Croatia, Austria and Trinidad & Tobago’s travel corridors would be revoked, effective from 4am on Saturday (22 August) – giving the trade and consumers less than a day and a half’s notice.

Lewis said the latest quarantine update was another blow to consumer confidence, and a further setback to the travel industry, which he said was "fighting hard to get back on its feet".