Simpson, chief executive of the World Travel & Tourism Council, told the Abta Travel Convention in London that the UK government needed to end “nonsensical” restrictions on international travel to restore public confidence.
She predicted there could be a 30% increase in the country’s travel and tourism GDP in 2021 compared with last year.
“Next year, we might be able to – if we get rid of the red list and the Wild West of testing regimes – get back to 80% of 2019 levels, but there are some ifs,” said Simpson.
She added the UK’s income from travel and tourism could “exceed” 2019 levels from 2023 onwards, as “pent-up demand” is released after the pandemic.
