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.
Simpson said the UK was currently “lagging” behind other parts of the world in the recovery of travel and tourism, mainly due to its level of restrictions compared with other regions such as China, Europe and the US.
She highlighted the drop in income for the inbound industry, which slumped from £36 billion in 2019 to £10 billion in 2020, and this figure could be even lower this year at around £5 billion.
“It’s quite shocking that there are completely different trends,” added Simpson. “They are connected [with outbound tourism]. If international travellers are put off coming to the UK, then people sitting in the UK can be put off by the amount of restrictions we have here.
“We have had this ridiculous red list. We’re arguing to absolutely get rid of the red list. We don’t need it – we can assess countries on an individual basis now.
“It’s the chopping and changing, without any kind of logic, that’s caused a real impact to people seeking the reassurance to travel. People are still worried about getting stuck.”
Simpson also questioned why fully vaccinated travellers returning to the UK will still be required to take a day two Covid test. This is due to change from a PCR to a lateral flow test in the next few weeks.
“If you’re fully vaccinated why do you need to take that test?” she argued.
Simpson pleaded for governments around the world to start taking the outbound tourism industry “seriously” after the pandemic.
“We would like them to really see the value of the sector – that would be a powerful change,” she added.
