The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has argued there is no need reimpose quarantines on British travellers arriving in the EU.

The comments come in response to remarks from German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who recently mooted the idea in response to the spread of the Delta Covid-19 variant.

The strain is now dominant in the UK, but is still growing in the EU.

In response to the remarks,

Virginia Messina, WTTC senior vice president, said: “WTTC is very concerned about reversing quarantine measures and would urge against EU states reimposing them on arriving British holidaymakers.

“With more than 60 per cent of British adults now fully vaccinated, they should be able to enjoy quarantine-free travel to the EU.

“Quarantines are not the most effective measure to curb the spread of Covid-19 and there is no need to reintroduce them especially given the increasing vaccination rates across Europe.”

She added: “Imposing an EU-wide quarantine would extinguish any hopes of bringing back significant summer travel which is a critical season for most European markets.

“This would significantly damage these countries’ economies, such as Germany where the UK is the fourth largest source market.

“It would also deal a significant economic blow to countries such as Portugal, Spain, Cyprus and Malta where the UK is also the biggest source market – and Italy – where quarantines have recently returned for inbound British travellers.”