ABTA calls for urgent Government action at Travel Convention

ABTA said today that the global travel industry has an opportunity and responsibility to rebuild in a more sustainable way following the coronavirus crisis, but that urgent action from the UK Government is critical in helping boost consumer confidence.

At its annual Travel Convention, held virtually this year, ABTA revealed new figures showing the impact of the coronavirus crisis on overseas travel. Only 15% of people took a foreign holiday between February and July 2020 compared to 51% over the 12-month period, and 64% the previous year.

The current government restrictions around international travel are a major contributing factor in people’s reticence to travel, with 93% of people concerned about potential last-minute changes to foreign office travel advice and 4 in 5 people concerned about having to quarantine when they return from holiday.

While general support measures, such as furlough and the business interruption loan schemes, have given breathing space to some travel businesses, the Government has been too slow to act on the tailored support that ABTA has been calling for since the start of the crisis, it said.

"After a summer dominated by ever-changing quarantine rules and a dwindling number of destinations for holidaymakers to visit, and with the Government yet to adopt either a testing regime or a fully regionalised approach to foreign travel advice and quarantine measures – despite many other countries having these measures in place, we have already witnessed a number of travel companies fail and tens of thousands of jobs lost," added ABTA.

"Without tailored support, including further grants to aid recovery, travel agents in particular face a very difficult few months ahead. These businesses, the vast majority of whom are SMEs, and which includes high-street businesses that are an integral part of communities across the UK, have had no revenue for nearly a year.

"The Job Support Scheme, which requires people to pay a minimum of 55% of salaries, does not go far enough for these businesses to avoid difficult decisions to let go of valued of staff members.

"It is vital that the Global Travel Taskforce launched this month to consider a testing regime, and other measures to support recovery of the travel industry, acts decisively and urgently to help increase consumer confidence and get the industry moving again."

ABTA said support from the Government is even more critical as the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December draws near.

"Many questions for travellers and travel businesses regarding the UK’s future arrangements with the EU remain unanswered and further clarity is essential to avoid even more disruption for the travel industry in 2021."

Looking ahead, new figures reveal that 52% of people believe that the travel industry should reopen in a greener way.

ABTA’s new report ‘Tourism for Good – A Roadmap for Rebuilding Travel and Tourism’ sets out how to rebuild a more responsible and resilient industry.
Research from CEBR shows that the aggregate global gross value added of UK outbound tourism is estimated at $81.4 billion and supports 2.7 million jobs, while in the UK it generates £37 billion (1.8% of GDP) in aggregate economic impact and 526,000 full-time equivalent jobs.

The report also identifies the sustainability challenges faced by the industry, including the need to accelerate decarbonisation and to ensure that tourism generates greater benefits for destinations and local communities, and emphasises how these will be addressed most effectively through collaborative action.

Underpinned by a series of nine core principles, the report sets out a roadmap to guide ABTA’s commitment to working with its members, the wider travel industry, destinations, and customers. It also calls on the UK Government to support tourism’s contribution to economic development and employment, deliver the necessary policies to encourage transport providers to transition to greener technologies, and to help consumers to transition to low-carbon transport.

ABTA Chief Executive Mark Tanzer said: "There is no doubt that people’s confidence and trust in the industry has taken a huge hit – and we must work hard to earn that trust back. Not only is that by being creative and flexible in terms of the holiday and customer experience we offer, but also by making sustainability a fundamental principle of travel.

"We have to look at the whole spectrum of sustainability issues and ask ourselves – how can we do more? Out of every crisis is opportunity – for the travel industry – our opportunity is embracing sustainability. We have a duty to come back stronger and more responsible to ensure our future survival.

"We also need to make sure the UK Government understands the huge value of the sector and takes urgent action to support it – not just in the immediate future so we aren’t counting the costs of coronavirus for decades to come, but also with long-term policies that will help the industry to rebuild in a greener way."