Industry leaders urged to back quarantine lobbying

The parent company of Travel Weekly and The Caterer has urged industry leaders to lobby the government over its “devastating” quarantine plans.

A letter was sent to home secretary Priti Patel on Thursday morning with an initial 70 signatories from the travel and hospitality sectors. However, campaign leader George Morgan-Grenville, chief executive of tour operator Red Savannah, said the response had been so positive that he planned to send a second letter to show the level of concern within the industry.

Clive Jacobs, chairman of Jacobs Media Group, said: “The government’s quarantine plans are the final straw for the travel and hospitality sectors that are already reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is imperative that the prime minister and government recognise the crippling effect that such measures will have and we need the leaders of industry to stand up and make this absolutely clear.”

Morgan-Grenville added: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the initial response to our first letter and we urge the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors to endorse its contents via our follow-up letter to Whitehall, because it’s essential these quarantine rules are withdrawn.”

The government confirmed details of the quarantine restrictions to apply to overseas visitors and travellers returning to the UK from 8 June at the end of last week.

In Thursday’s letter, the signatories said: “The UK travel industry is currently severely challenged... The government has been woefully slow to react and procrastinated to the point of absurdity in terms of providing support for or ruling against the concept of Refund Credit Notes.

“The last thing the travel industry needs is a mandatory quarantine imposed on all arriving passengers which will deter foreign visitors from coming here, deter UK visitors from travelling abroad and . . . cause other countries to impose reciprocal quarantine requirements on British visitors.”

France has already threatened retaliatory restrictions on UK visitors.

The letter added: “The people of this country do not wish to be prevented from travelling . . . it is time to switch the emphasis to economic recovery before it is too late.

“We urge the Home Secretary to abandon the concept of mandatory quarantine.”

Director and owners of businesses in the travel and hospitality sector are urged to lend their support to the second letter by emailing: Getgoing@redsavannah.com

The signatories to the first letter are:

• Sir Rocco Forte, chairman and chief executive, Rocco Forte Hotels
• Henrietta Loyd, founder, Cazenove & Loyd
• Geoffrey Kent, co-chairman, Abercrombie & Kent Group
• Andrew Sutcliffe, QC, 3VB Chambers
• Andrew Dunn, chairman, Scott Dunn
• Tom Barber, co-founder and director, Original Travel
• Henry Cookson FRGS, chairman and founder, Cookson Adventures
• Oliver Brendon, chief executive and founder, ATD Travel Services
• Edward Orr, chairman, Mr & Mrs Smith
• Manfredi Lefebvre, co-chairman, Abercrombie & Kent Group
• Victoria Williams Hooberman, director, Scott Williams
• Derek Jones, chief executive, Der Touristik UK
• Francis Torrilla, managing director, Jules Verne
• Jennifer Atkinson, chief executive, Inspiring Travel Company
• Rupert Longsdon, founder and chief executive, Oxford Ski Company & Oxford Private Travel
• James Jayasundera, founder and managing director, Ampersand Travel
• Joss Kent, chief executive, &Beyond
• Edward Granville, director, Red Savannah
• Nick Van Gruisen, managing director, The Ultimate Travel Company
• Simon Leadsford, publisher, Conde Nast Traveller
• Kerry Golds, managing director, Abercrombie & Kent
• Tom Marchant, co-founder, the Black Tomato Group
• Maymie White, director, Scott Williams
• Glen Donovan, founder, Earth
• Paul Cleary, managing director, Caribtours
• Ted Wake, director, Kirker Holidays
• Roz Webster, founder, Cream Travel
• Mehra Dalton, founder and chief executive, Greaves Travel
• James Merrett, co-founder, the Black Tomato Group
• Pammy Goodman, travel editor, House & Garden
• Kane Pirie, founder and chief executive, Vivid Travel
• Lucy Cleland, editorial director, Country & Townhouse
• Sarah Mason, managing director, Mason Rose Private
• Serge Dive, founder and chief executive, Beyond Media
• Ileana von Hirsch, managing director, Five Star Greece
• Mary Ann Curtis-Green, managing director, Mahout
• Andrew Loyd, co-founder, Loyd & Townsend
• Rose Matt Smith, co-founder, the Black Tomato Group
• Gemma Antrobus, managing director, Haslemere Travel
• Alice Daunt, founder, Daunt Travel
• Marina Gratsos, founder, Carpe Diem Luxury Travel
• Judy Menier, founder, SJ Villas
• Mark Hudson, chairman, Digital Health Intelligence
• Michelle Jana Chan, travel editor, Vanity Fair
• David Morgan-Hewitt, managing director, the Goring, London
• Amanda Hyndman, general manager and vice-president operations, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London
• Michael Bonsor, managing director, Rosewood London
• Bob Van Den Oord, managing director, the Langham London
• Guillaume Marly, managing director, Hotel Café Royal, London
• Jannes Soerensen, general manager, the Beaumont, London
• Philip Barnes, regional vice president and managing director, the Savoy London
• Aaron Kaupp, general manager, Jumeirah Carlton Tower, London
• Andrew Batchelor, general manager, the Landmark London
• Thomas Kochs, managing director, Corinthia London
• Stuart Proctor, chief operating officer, Stafford Collection
• Joanna Taylor-Stagg, general manager, the Athenaeum hotel, London
• Kurt Macher, general manager, Shangri-La Hotel the Shard, London
• Stuart Johnson, managing director, Brown's hotel, London
• Kostas Sfaltos, general manager, Bvlgari hotel
• Guillaume Marly, managing director, Hotel Café Royal, London
• Paul Jackson, general manager, Claridge’s, London
• Jurgen Ammerstorfer, general manager, the London Edition
• Philip Barnes, managing director, the Savoy London
• Arnaud de Saint-Exupery, general manager, Hyatt Regency London – the Churchill
• Sonja Vodusek, managing director, the Peninsula London
• Knut Wylde, general manager, the Berkeley, London
• Sandeep Bhalla, general manager, the Connaught, London
• Sal Gowili, general manager, the Ritz London
• Andrew Batchelor, general manager, the Landmark London
• Bob Van Den Oord, managing director, the Langham London
• Klaus Kabelitz, general manager, the Biltmore Mayfair
• Frank Kenyon-Slaney, director, World Odyssey
• Jeremy Goring, chief executive, the Goring, Lonfon
• Huw Beaugié, founder, The Thinking