WTTC Calls on UK To Remove Confusing Traffic Light System

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) would like to see the UK do away with its “confusing and damaging traffic light system.”

The WTTC said, “the move would, at a stroke, simplify a system which has become steadily discredited over recent months.” It noted that the current method leaves travelers and businesses “wrong-footed” and has eroded consumer confidence to travel.

“It’s time the government removed the ambiguity by abandoning the confusing and damaging traffic light system and replacing it with a simple system of green and red categories and clear rules for the vaccinated and unvaccinated, so travelers know exactly where they stand,” said Virginia Messina, WTTC senior vice president and acting CEO.

“We need to provide clarity across the UK travel and tourism sector, which has been crying out for the present highly unpredictable system to be dropped, having brought international travel from the UK to its knees.”

The WTTC recommended that the UK allow visitors that have received two shots of the vaccine from around the world, not just from the EU and the U.S. and also said the country should widen the green list so fully vaccinated UK citizens can travel safely around the world.

The WTTC said that taking actions such as these would restore international mobility, reduce protocols for vaccinated travelers and highlight the importance of global vaccine recognition, as well as the adoption of “digital health passes.”