Changes to travel regulations in Scotland have had an immediate impact on booking enquiries, according to the country's professional body for travel agents.

Followng the announcement earlier this week of equivalent rule changes in England, SNP ministers yesterday confirmed the axing of the need for fully vaccinated international arrivals into Scotland to self-isolate.

Under new regulations international arrivals who are fully vaccinated or under the age of 18 are not required to take a pre-departure test, and will not have to self-isolate on arrival until receiving a negative result. New arrivals can also use lateral flow devices rather than more expensive PCR tests.

READ MORE: Isolation and pre-departure tests axed for international arrivals

Mike Tibbert, president of The Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association (SPAA), said booking enquiries among its 200-plus members and associates have more than doubled in the hours since the changes were confirmed.

“Even at this early stage, with the announcement only being made late in the afternoon yesterday, our members are telling us that enquiries are up over 100 per cent on the previous week and bookings are showing similar levels of growth," he said.

“Travel agents across Scotland are looking forward to a busy weekend as customer sentiment towards travel increases in positivity. These changes are good for our whole sector."

However, he added: "It should be remembered that, although figures of 100% increase in enquiries and bookings looks significant, the base figures were very low after two years of incredibly poor trading. The 100% increases which our members report are in fact around 60% of the levels they were trading at in a similar period in 2019."