Plans to allow double-jabbed foreigners to skip quarantine to be revealed 'in weeks' in major tourism boost

BRITAIN could be set for a late summer tourism boom as ministers finalise plans for double-jabbed foreigners to avoid quarantine. 

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today revealed he is thrashing out plans to accept vaccine certificates from other countries – and that an announcement would be made "in the next couple of weeks".

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It could see hoards of overseas holidaymakers flooding in just as the UK roars back into post-lockdown life, with social distancing scrapped.

Looser restrictions than most of Europe would make Britain an attractive place to visit after July 19.

Yesterday Mr Shapps gave fully-vaxxed Brits the green light to holiday in France, Spain, Greece and other amber list countries by waiving self-isolation after Freedom Day.

But it only applies to people who've received jabs from the NHS, ruling out foreign vaccines.

This morning the Transport Sec confirmed he was looking to axe quarantine for foreign arrivals by formally accepting their vaccine proof.

He told Sky News: "The next thing is to be able to recognise apps from other countries or certification from other countries.

"It is easier done from some places, like the EU where they have a digital app coming along, than it is in the United States where I think they have 50 different systems, one for each state."

Hospitality bosses welcomed the move and hoped it would lure tourists to Britain.

Hospitality UK boss Kate Nicholls told The Sun: "The pandemic has wiped out our tourism industry so any moves to get that re-started is really good."

Tourism is Britain's third largest export and is a £140bn revenue-raiser.

In a rallying cry for tourists to choose Britain for their hols, she added we've got a "really good record" of being Covid safe.

Mr Shapps also warned that British holidaymakers faced long queues at the border because of additional checks.

He braced people to "expect more disruption than usual" as border force staff grapple with Covid red tape when quarantine rules are relaxed.

He added that most of the queuing will be before departure back to England, with airlines checking passenger locator forms, and whether travellers have taken a pre-departure test and booked a post-arrival test.

Immigration Services Union spokeswoman Lucy Moreton said peak queues are currently up to two hours and could increase to six hours with the Covid inspections."

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