Hotel quarantine would come in addition to requiring arrivals to test negative for Covid up to 72 hours before departure, and the existing 10-day self-isolation requirement for those arriving from all other locations now the country’s travel corridor regime has been suspended.

According to the WTTC, hotel quarantine risks wiping nearly £400,000 from the UK economy every minute; the council said on Wednesday (26 January) the government must act now to protect the travel and tourism sectors, which it said would be instrumental in kick-starting the country’s economic recovery from the Covid crisis.

It previously warned hotel quarantine could cause "the complete collapse of travel and tourism as we know it".

"WTTC urgently calls upon the UK government to extend the furlough scheme for those employed in the beleaguered travel and tourism sector," said WTTC president and chief executive Gloria Guevara.

"Without it, and a comprehensive support package for businesses up and down the country which have been devastated by the pandemic, the UK’s travel and tourism sector could be brought to its knees.

"International travel will all but wiped out and according to WTTC analysis, the UK economy could lose a staggering £380,000 every minute – or almost £548 million every day.

"The government has a duty to share its own economic impact assessment, so we fully understand the effect these measures will have on the sector and the wider economy.

"If the UK is to have any hope of reviving the economy after the pandemic, we have to protect a sector, which will be instrumental in kick starting it."