Trade bodies call for financial support after latest travel blow
ABTA is calling for additional financial support for travel businesses after new tougher Tier 4 lockdown restrictions, including a ban on non-essential travel, were announced for London and the South East of England.
The new restrictions affect 17 million people, which is a third of the population.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also urged people living in the rest of the UK to reconsider their travel plans after the discovery of a new, more virulent strain of the coronavirus.
In response, an ABTA spokesperson said: "ABTA has always maintained that public health must, of course, come first. But it is clear that travel businesses will need additional support to get through the next few weeks.
"More than nine months into this crisis, official statistics from the ONS already show that travel is the hardest hit service sector in the UK economy, worse than hospitality and other areas. Tailored financial support for the travel industry is long overdue, and must be urgently addressed by the Chancellor in the wake of this announcement.
"The Scottish Government has recognised this already, and promised funding from January. Other parts of the UK must follow suit without delay."
Advantage chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said also called for more support for agents in the rest of the UK. In a Tweet, she added: "How many travel companies will be working all hours of the night managing planned travel arrangements for all their customers traveling out of tier 4 airports etc over the next few days? Doing this when they have earned nothing for nine months. How will they be supported?"
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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