The report of the Global Taskforce on Travel is suggesting that short term visits by international business travellers should be allowed to the UK.

Its recommendation is that there should be a “short stay exemption for business activity” for trips of one to three days and it is “working with industry and clinicians to consider the feasibility of the proposal”. The effect would be that international business travellers “would not be required to self-isolate if undertaking business related activity only”.

The reason, according to the report, is that “business travel is expected to recover most slowly and that there is a clear need to boost confidence. An exemption for short-term business trips from the need to self-isolate on arrival would clearly have a major beneficial impact in supporting such journeys, which make an important economic contribution to the UK.”

The report says that: “This exemption would explicitly not extend to socialising or any other non-business-related activity”.

The quarantine exemption, however, does not extend to British business travellers returning home from a trip abroad.

Mention is instead made of the importance of inbound visits “for the success of events and conferences and to the broader visitor economy.”

“This might provide an opportunity to start promoting major events in 2022, including the Commonwealth Games, Festival 2022 and the Platinum Jubilee,” the report says.

“We will work with industry and clinicians to study the feasibility of this proposal, including, building on the conference pilots, examining how we can restart business conferences in a COVID-secure manner as early as possible in 2021.”

The intention is to now “work with industry and clinicians to consider the feasibility of the proposal.”