Travel Support Bubble launched on Mental Health Day

The Advantage Travel Partnership and the Association of Women Travel Executives have come together to create a ‘Travel Support Bubble’ to offer emotional support to fellow travel industry professionals. 

Launching today on World Mental Health Day, volunteers and those in need from across the travel sector can connect with each other and offer support. 

Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO of Advantage Travel Partnership said: "My team are speaking to desperate agents everyday who are literally losing the will to continue the battle to save their businesses.  Six months is a long time to be at the coal face of a crisis with zero support from the government, and for many of our members there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. 

"Whilst Boris, Rishi and Grant continue to ignore us, we want to show our agents – many of whom are women – they are not ignored by the industry.  We hope the Travel Support Bubble will help bridge the gap for those of our colleagues at the end of their tether and provide like-minded souls to offer support and empathy when they need it most."

Claire Osborne, Chair of AWTE added: "AWTE has been supporting women in business in the travel industry for over 60 years and never has the need been greater to show solidarity than now.  This is more than tears of frustration from our members and network, this is actual despair.  Things are looking very grave for many working in the travel industry and we have seen this have a huge effect on the levels of anxiety and depression across the board.  Anything we can do to support our fellow professionals is a step in the right direction, as we have people on the edge of a precipice and we want to help in whatever way we can."

Around 60% of professionals in the travel industry are women with the majority in lower paid positions, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s Global Report on Women in Tourism, making women significantly more vulnerable to redundancy or minimal income potential as many, such as homeworking travel agents, rely on commission-based earnings.

Recent studies have also highlighted a pandemic-related increase in women experiencing at least one underlying health problem, from 11% to 27% due to a toxic combination of financial uncertainty, increased demands of childcare and domestic work and a lack of social interaction.

As part of the outreach to women in need across the industry, AWTE and Advantage will host a Weekly Open Forum starting on October 16 at 1pm, where participants can share their issues in a supportive open forum hosted by Lo Bue-Said and Osborne. 

To become a volunteer supporter or to ask for help from the bubble email [email protected]

By Louise Longman, Contributing Editor (UK)