Attached a copy of the lobby pack that supports the Queen’s speech. Here are some…
COVID-19 Update 26th August 2021
- Clarification On Guidance
One question that I’ve been discussing with DCMS is what “fully vaccinated” means in the context of overseas visitors from the EEA and US being exempt from the need to quarantine. The issue has arisen that. in Switzerland, people who have had Coronavirus and one jab are considered to be “fully vaccinated” because they have had the virus twice. In response to these queries, the Government has just updated the guidance on quarantining to state:
What counts as fully vaccinated
You may not be considered to be fully vaccinated for the purpose of entering the UK even if you’re considered to be fully vaccinated in your country of origin.
In the UK, ‘fully vaccinated’ means you’ve had either:
- 2 doses of an approved 2 dose vaccine (such as Pfizer or AstraZeneca)
- one dose of an approved single dose vaccine (such as Janssen)
You must have had your final dose at least 14 whole days before you arrive in England. The day you had your final dose does not count as one of the 14 days.
This means that people coming from the EEA and the US need to be fully vaccinated in terms of the UK definition rather than the definition in their home country.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-quarantine-when-you-arrive-in-england
BTA’s Framework Agreement
The Government has published it’s framework agreement with BTA. The priorities set for the organisation are to:
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- Help the tourism industry recover swiftly from the impact of COVID-19
- Ensure the BTA’s work is fully aligned with the cross-Government post-COVID Tourism Recovery Plan, and ensures the BTA makes a full advisory contribution to Government policy making related to tourism
- Strengthen the marketing of Britain overseas to achieve growth in international leisure and business tourism, particularly in terms of value
- Continue to maintain distinct activities to develop and market English tourism
- Continue to prioritise improvements in procurement, compliance and wider corporate functions, ensuring that the BTA delivers high standards of regularity and propriety.
The framework also contains a series of KPIs by which BTA’s performance will be assessed.
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- For VisitBritain to stimulate demand to drive the quickest return of international visitor spend.
- The BTA will need to deliver anticipated levels of return of investment on campaigning activity as set out in Professional Assurance (PASS) application forms.
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- For VisitEngland to support the recovery of the English tourism sector, ensuring it is ready to welcome back visitors after lockdowns.
- The BTA will be assessed on their ability to support tourism businesses recover from COVID-19. This could include looking at the number of We’re Good to Go sign-ups, the number of roadshows, workshops and business engagement activities and the impact of domestic marketing activity.
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- To be the authority on tourism, delivering the statutory role to provide expert advice and insights to industry and Government.
- The BTA will need to make sure its activity aligns with the Tourism Recovery Plan, the Integrated Review, the outcome of the Destination Management Organisations independent review and other relevant major Government initiatives.
- The BTA will need to commission and publish a robust suite of research on domestic and inbound travel, demonstrating visitor trends, regional variation. Advise DCMS and wider government on major policy initiatives.
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- Compliance, Internal Employee Satisfaction & Transformation.
- The BTA will seek to achieve an Employee Engagement Score (EES) to be in line with Cabinet Office average levels.
- The BTA will be expected to demonstrate continued progress on addressing compliance issues.
- By the end of the year the BTA will need to have developed a plan for moving out of London by the end of 2024.
Delay In The Implementation Of The UKCA Mark
You may have seen that the Government has announced that businesses will have an additional year to which from the EU’s CE product safety marking to the new UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking for products placed on the UK market – the deadline is now 1 January 2023 rather than 1 January 2022.
BEIS has been in touch to explain this delay and although I’ve said that there probably won’t be much impact on tourism businesses, they will be holding a call tomorrow to discuss this extension and what this means for businesses if anyone has any concerns as it how it might impact their members. The call is from 14:30 to 15:00 tomorrow (25 August) and you can join on the following link.
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