The travel industry will return and recover but it will do so slowly. These are the sentiments of one Twickenham expert after what has been a very important day for the travel industry.

Bruce and Hedda Lyons own independent travel agency Crusader Travel on Church Street, and, like many travel companies, they have spent the past year refunding and rescheduling rather than holiday-planning.

At 5pm today the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced the Government's "necessarily cautious" plan to remove the stay-in-the-UK restrictions, including the long-awaited list of green countries.

Reacting to the press conference Bruce said: "It was pretty well exactly as I imagined, the only exception was they didn't split Balearics and Canaries from mainland Spain.

"But this is only the beginning and they will probably sophisticate the lists as the weeks go by.

"When travel comes back it won't come back overnight, it will be a gradual process."

Travel experts are estimating that the industry will not start to look like normal again until 2024.

When I asked Bruce how the last year has impacted the travel industry, he said: "just disastrous – and it will take time to recover.

"I was very lucky because in 2019 I downsized from two shops to one.

"A lot of travel agents are gone.

"A lot of my friends are gone."

The full list of green countries is: Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira, Australia; New Zealand; Singapore; Brunei: Iceland; Faroe Islands; Gibraltar; Falkland Islands; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; and Israel and Jerusalem.

Three extra countries - Turkey, the Maldives, and Nepal - have been added to the red list.

Bruce has had customers calling him over the past few weeks simply wanting to know where they can go on holiday.

He said: "What's most interesting is people's attitudes: some people will go anywhere as soon as possible."

Some have suggested that a lack of tests might cause problems for travellers as demand surges, but Bruce feels there will be a bigger deterrent than test availability.

He said: "I think the problem will be that people won't want to go away if they think there's going to be a big queue at the airport - people will book for July.

"A lot of our clients would rather not go, they would rather go to their house in Cornwall or do something else."

He said there are already six- to eight-hour queues at Heathrow at the moment due to the added paperwork.

He is confident that airports will follow strict protocols to ensure that travel is covid-safe and those travelling from red countries don't mix with those from green, as some have been concerned would happen.

He said: "The idea of people coming from green countries and mixing with people from red countries is a disaster. I don't think it will happen.

"I think the worry really is about quarantining. I think in Britain we are getting less worried about catching it, because it is more under control now and a lot of people are vaccinated.

"I would like to say err on the side of caution - which is difficult as a travel agent.

"The important thing for anyone planning to travel is to ensure that they book knowing the protocols and ideally they book face to face, with an agent they trust."

In tonight's press conference Paul Lincoln, director-general of Border Force, said that Border Force will be checking 100% of passengers.

He said it takes 5-10 minutes for officers to complete checks for "compliant" passengers.

This is 14 or 15 times longer to process than before, even for those with correct documentation.

The hold ups will affect the whole process of booking to ensure clients have the necessary protection for cancellations and changes – like travelling to a country which changes from green to amber, or to red while they're there.

Of course many in the UK will turn to staycations this year, although this is a competitive market.

"One of the biggest problems that people who want to go on holiday will face is getting the standards they want," says Bruce.

"It is very difficult because everything is in high demand – for example there are no houses by the sea left in the summer holidays."

Another option that people may not automatically consider is cruises – but not as we know them.

Bruce explains that cruise companies have been very innovative during the pandemic, creating "seacation" experiences which float around the UK without stopping at any ports, and allowing people to do day excursions on inflatables.

He said: "There are some nice cruises around Britain and they are not expensive – and safe."

Due to the pandemic there are a huge number of boats of all differing sizes and styles with nowhere to go.

Bruce thinks around 30% of cruises are now seacations.

He said: "This has never happened before.

"The trend started in Singapore – they were the first one to do a cruise to nowhere!

"Then Australia did it, and now we are doing it."

These trips help prevent the spread of the virus as they do not accept tourists from other nations.

About Crusader Travel

Bruce has been in the industry a long time – he first set up shop with Hedda on Church Street in 1966 (albeit at a different site) and worked for an agency in Richmond before that.

Now they have five members of staff (two on furlough) including their daughter, Shona.

The shop is now an iconic part of the street – particularly famous among local children for its giant chess set outside.

They specialise in travel to the Middle East, and diving holidays (both Hedda and Bruce are both qualified divers).

The shop is open on Church Street, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5.30pm.

For more info contact: [email protected] or 0208 744 0474 or visit the website here.