Associations from across the travel industry, including ABTA, The Specialist Travel Association (AITO), ATAS, the BTA, the SPAA, and UK-inbound, have come together to ask for the government?s support to save jobs and businesses in the travel industry.
The industry bodies had a virtual meeting to discuss shared objectives, such as regionalising quarantine, introducing COVID-19 testing and ongoing salary and grant support schemes, which can help salvage the jobs in the travel sector.
They agreed to increase coordination and combined efforts, ahead of the budget this autumn, with regular meetings and joint activities, to secure the targeted support from the government.
According to research by ABTA, 39,000 jobs have already been lost or are at risk, many more are in the pipeline, as 78% of companies are yet to start their redundancy consultations.
Luke Petherbridge, director of public affairs at ABTA said, ?The whole of travel industry is going through a period of uncertainty and challenge like never before. It is our job to make the case for our industry. We must come together to highlight the vital strategic importance of travel for the wider UK economy, as businesses that underpin the country?s aviation connectivity, and support inward investment and export earnings. Other than championing the importance of the sector, we must also offer ministers practical and workable solutions to the problems being faced by the leisure and business travel sectors.?
?With MPs returning to the Parliament this week and the budget nearing closer, it is an opportune moment to hammer home the plight of the industry, and the actions needed to secure jobs and businesses. Coordinating our efforts through the Save Future Travel Coalition enables us to speak with one voice on areas of common interest, and ensure that our industry?s voice is heard more clearly in the critical weeks ahead,? he added.
As the Save Future Travel Coalition, the various travel associations will be pursuing the following goals:
Regionalise quarantine: The move to a regionalised quarantine and a better co-ordination between the four nations of the UK.
Testing: Increased testing will enable travel to resume to major destinations and global trading partners, such as the Canaries or the US
Grant an APD holiday: To incentivise consumers to book and boost travel companies ahead of summer 2021.
Provide recovery grants and other business support measures: Target support for SME businesses, travel agents, tour operators and DMOs, to help these businesses through to the end of quarter one 2021, which is the next major travel period.
The Government can support these businesses through the issuing of tailored grant support, such as those offered to retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses earlier in the crisis. It can also extend other business support measures into 2021-22, through rate reliefs and VAT deferrals.
Salary Support: As the furlough scheme draws to an end in October, the government should consider extending support to businesses that have not seen a significant recovery in revenues. Targeting salary support where it is needed until March 2021 would reduce overall costs to HM Treasury and could preserve tens of thousands of jobs in travel.
Julia Lo Bue Said, CEO of The Advantage Travel Partnership said, ?Continued collaboration at this critical time requires all organisations to pull together with a common message if we are to salvage businesses and jobs.?
Martyn Sumners, executive director at AITO, said, "AITO fully supports these actions to retain a vibrant and diverse sector of the UK economy."
Clive Wratten, chief executive at the BTA, said, ?At a time when our sector faces a unique crisis, it is imperative, organisations from across our industry come together to combine all of our interests and demonstrate to the Government the value travel delivers for the UK.?
Joanne Dooey, president of the SPAA, said, ?This new collaboration gives us the opportunity to convey to the governments the massive risk that the entire travel sector is facing. They need to recognise the unquantifiable damage that will be done to the wider UK/Scottish economy, as it extends far beyond individuals missing out on a holiday, and encompasses a global corporate travel sector."
Joss Croft, CEO, UKinbound said,?This collaboration will amplify our voice within Government and the fact that our industry, particularly inbound tourism businesses, is facing a catastrophe without an urgent help.?
ABTA launched the Save Future Travel campaign in April, which saw more than 25,000 emails sent to MPs asking them to support the industry. The coalition partners will be looking to build on that platform, and engage with other industry campaigns of The Future Aviation Group, a group of MPs from across the political spectrum that is supported by ABTA, the AOA, Airlines UK, and other bodies in the aviation sector, to raise awareness in parliament.
The group is looking to involve other interested travel trade bodies and associations.
image credit: Adrian Agawin/Pexels
