FOUR in 10 Scots believe that English tourists should not be allowed to travel into Scotland without quarantining, a YouGov poll has found.
The poll – which asked 1134 Scots their view on tourists entering from other countries without needing to quarantine – reported 47% of Scots quizzed support English tourists being able to enter the country without a period of isolation.
The research also revealed significant discrepancy along political lines when Scots were asked whether they support or oppose allowing tourists into the country.
More than half (54%) of SNP voters surveyed said they do not want English tourists to cross the Border without quarantining, compared to 37% of Scottish Labour voters and 19% of those who voted for the Scottish Conservatives at the 2019 election.
Just over a third (34%) of SNP voters support the current system of allowing English tourists in without requiring them to quarantine, as opposed to 49% of Labour voters and 65% of Tory voters. Independence-supporting Yes
voters from 2014 oppose letting in English tourists by 52% to 36%, while No voters support allowing English tourists into Scotland by 55% to 30%.
The poll was carried out a week after Scottish independence campaigners staged a protest at the Border calling for people from England to be banned from entering or to impose a mandatory quarantine period.
Scots are less likely to object to visitors from other parts of the UK, with 29% opposed to people coming from Wales and 28% of respondents wanting to block tourists from Northern Ireland. In contrast, 56% support allowing unrestricted access to Scotland from the two countries.
Support for tourists from the Republic of Ireland also outweighs opposition, by 53% to 31%.
Visitors from further afield are less welcome, the survey suggests, with more opposition than support for allowing unrestricted travel for Danish, Swedish, German, Spanish, Italian, Chinese and American tourists.
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