ABTA urges Brexit negotiators to prioritise travel deal

ABTA is putting further pressure on the UK Government to prioritise a Brexit deal on travel as a matter of urgency.

As the EU Withdrawal Bill returns to the House of Commons next week for further debate, the trade body is meeting senior officials in Brussels, including at the Commission, and EU ambassadors to urge them to prioritise a travel deal.

It has published a report today ‘Travelling Together: The Economic Value of UK Outbound Travel’, which stresses the importance of a deal allowing holidaymakers and business travellers to travel confidently in the future.

The report quantifies how UK travel to the EU has positively impacted lives by stimulating economic growth, providing jobs and supporting businesses.

It also highlights the importance of safeguarding transport links, including air routes, for both parties.

Key findings include:

– UK travellers are worth in excess of €37 billion in total aggregate Gross Value Added GVA to the economies of the EU27

– Outbound tourism from the UK directly sustains over 380,000 jobs across the EU, supporting a further 486,000 jobs indirectly through supply chains.

– UK travellers support over 440,000 businesses across the EU.

– The top destination by far for UK travellers is Spain. In 2016, Spain received 14.7 million visits by UK travellers, aggregate GVA impact was over €13 billion and more than one in 20 Spanish businesses were connected to UK tourism.

– Malta has the largest share of businesses linked to UK tourism – 16% of the country’s companies are connected to UK travel.

Commenting on the Brexit negotiations, Mark Tanzer, ABTA Chief Executive, said: "As Brexit negotiations continue, our message to policymakers at home and abroad is clear: the true economic value of UK outbound travel to both the EU and the UK must not be underestimated and it is vital that we are able to continue travelling confidently post-Brexit.

“ABTA is urging both sides of the negotiations to reach a solution that secures these crucial rights, as quickly as possible. The EU is the UK’s largest travel destination, and UK outbound travel supports a huge number of jobs and small businesses across both the UK and EU. It is in the interests of all our citizens to find a long-term solution that works for everyone and enables us all to continue to travel with confidence."