Families and tourism bosses in South Yorkshire welcome travel quarantine change
Double jabbed US and EU visitors don't have to quarantine from today
South Yorkshire families, who've been spilt up overseas during the pandemic, can be reunited from today as international travel rules ease.
Double jabbed people in the US and most of the EU can now come here without having to self-isolate when they arrive.
They do still have to do a pre-departure test and one on day two of arriving though.
It means ex-pats like Patrick Jones can plan trips to see loved ones - he moved to New Jersey from Mexborough 9 and a half years ago and says he's looking forward to seeing loved ones:
"It's something I've been waiting for for a long time. I turned 40 this year - I wanted to get back for my 40th birthday and I couldn't celebrate with my family so that was really disappointing. So I've been checking the news almost every single day to hear what the latest is.
"It's just something we've been waiting ages to happen so we're just really excited to see our family and friends again.
"We're vaccinated, we can get over there. It's just a lot more time you can spend with your family and friends rather than in a house on your own quarantining. It puts everyone off coming over. I'm just looking forward to getting over there and having a couple of weeks without quarantining with family and friends. Seeing people other than my family too, like school friends who I haven't seen for almost two years at this point."
Although the new rules relax quarantine when people arrive in the UK, there are still restrictions going the other way for many trips.
Nevertheless, tourism bosses are expecting a boost with more international visitors heading to landmarks across our region because of the lack of quarantine.
Liz Smailes from Welcome to Yorkshire says they're very welcome here:
"America and some of the countries in the EU have always been one of our key markets for Yorkshire. The news is exceptionally good for us and we can't wait to welcome those visitors back.
"They tend to spend more. When we think of ourselves when we go abroad, the budget is a little bit out of the window! And it's the same with our international travellers here so that extra spending is always welcome in the hospitality industry."