Fresh bid to bring tailored support for stricken industry

The ABTA-led Save Future Travel Coalition has launched a fresh bid to get tailored support for the travel industry after again stressing the government’s financial package is insufficient to save jobs and businesses.

It is urging the industry to sign a petition which needs 100,000 signatures to be discussed in Parliament.

The coalition is calling for a government rescue package including a fully regionalised quarantine policy, the introduction of testing, a review of the Job Support Scheme and cuts to APD for summer 2021.

It is also demanding recovery grants for SME’s which missed out on previous support.

The petition is the latest attempt to convince Chancellor Rishi Sunak that the industry is deserving of special treatment.

While other sectors have been able to trade and generate revenue, the coalition argue travel is still paralysed and facing an escalating crisis.  

Sunak has previously insisted there will be no tailored approach, although a scheme to cut VAT for travel and hospitality was extended when he outlined the Job Support Scheme.   

Members of the trade associations are also being encouraged to write to their MPs calling for action.

ABTA Director of Public Affairs Luke Petherbridge said: "The Save Future Travel petition builds on the work ABTA and the other Coalition partners have been doing over the recent weeks to put the industry’s case to Government Ministers and officials about the desperate need for tailored support for the travel industry. It also supports the ongoing efforts of industry representatives who are using our template emails to reach out to their local MPs, and will further raise awareness of our plight.

"We have seen Government respond to the need for ongoing salary support and business support measures, but the plans unveiled in the Chancellors’ Winter Economy Plan do not go far enough.  The Job Support Scheme misses the mark for most travel businesses, and we strongly encourage the Government to review the scheme.

"We also need to see urgent progress on testing, and a fully regionalised approach to quarantine rules, as already happens in Germany and elsewhere, in order to restore the confidence in travel that will be critical to recovery." 

Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association (SPAA) President Joanne Dooey emphasised the need for urgency.

"I cannot stress highly enough the seriousness of the current plight of the travel industry, and I urge the Government to act decisively and positively before it is too late," she said.

A petition launched last month by Uncover the World sales manager Anthony Horrobin, which called for an extension to the furlough scheme, has drawn more than 50,000 signatures.