ALL international travellers arriving in Scotland from Monday will have to pay £1,750 to isolate in quarantine hotels for 10 days.

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said Scotland is taking a tougher approach to the UK Government because the plans down south are "not sufficient". 

He said six hotels near Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports have been identified, with a combined capacity of 1,300 rooms. 

All arrivals will be tested twice for the virus – once on day two and again on day eight.

Meanwhile, existing travel exemptions will be strengthened, including limiting overseas training for elite sportspeople to athletes and coaches preparing for the Olympics and Paralympics.

A small number of arrivals will not be required to isolate, such as those involved in essential supply chains for goods coming into Scotland.

Mr Matheson said a range of offences and penalties will be considered for those who break the rules.

He said all non-essential international travel is currently banned.

Arrivals in England have been told they face fines of up to £10,000 for failing to quarantine and those who lie on their passenger locator forms face up to 10 years in jail.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Commons that 16 hotels have been contracted for the hotel quarantine programme.

Arrivals in England from 33 "red list" countries will be required to spend 10 days in a Government-designated hotel.

Anyone who attempts to conceal that they have been in one of those destinations in the 10 days before arrival faces a prison sentence of up to 10 years, Mr Hancock said.

The £1,750 fee for an individual, which also applies in England, includes the hotel, transfer and testing.

Those travelling with other family members will face extra costs.

A "managed isolation welfare fund" will be launched for those who cannot afford the charge, with more details to come.

Mr Matheson said the number of arrivals into Scotland is reducing, with the new restrictions expected to reduce this yet further.

There were around 1,600 arrivals in the last week of January, he said. This fell to just 730 in the first week of February. 

Arrivals to England from one of the "red list" countries who want to travel on to Scotland will have to isolate in a hotel in England.

There were around 130 people in this category last week.

Mr Matheson said the Scottish Government continues to press UK ministers to adopt its more "comprehensive approach". 

Scottish ministers want all arrivals in the UK whose final destination is Scotland to be put into isolation hotels. 

However there is no agreement on this yet.

Mr Matheson said passengers arriving into Scotland will be required to book and pay for their mandatory isolation through an online portal, which will go live on Thursday.

He said: “To manage the risk of importing new variants, and to give vaccine deployment the best chance of bringing us closer to normality here in Scotland, we have to place further limits on international travel.

“The UK Government has only committed to adopting this for travellers returning from 'red list' countries.

"However, we know that is not sufficient and we will go further.

“The clinical advice is clear that a comprehensive system of managed quarantine is essential to minimise the impact of new Covid-19 variants."

Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Graham Simpson said: "While these measures are necessary to prevent the spread of Covid there are some serious unanswered questions.

"What is stopping people bypassing Scotland's stricter quarantine rules by flying into England, Wales or Nothern Ireland and then entering Scotland?

"Given the SNP have decided to go further than the rest of the UK, they also need to ensure that our aviation and tourism sectors are given urgent and adequate financial support.

"I would also urge the government to explain how these restrictions will be enforced and what happens if travellers are unable to meet the significant cost of quarantine."