Representative Image, Backpacker standing on sunrise viewpoint at Ja Bo village, Mae hong son province, Thailand. Image from Freepik
Following the General Election in the UK, Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive of ABTA – The Travel Association gave the following statement, he said: “We look forward to working with the new Government on the priorities for the travel industry and our members.
“As the voice of the travel industry, ABTA is in a very strong place to engage with the new Government, MPs, and officials. We’ve already put in a lot of work with parliamentary candidates across the political spectrum, which means we can hit the ground running in engaging them in the issues that matter to our members and the wider industry.
“We’ll be contacting newly appointed ministers over the coming days to remind them of the huge value of the outbound travel industry to the UK economy – contributing £49bn a year and supporting 843,000 jobs, and to raise our policy priorities within their direct portfolios.
“One thing we will be stressing is the need for urgent action to help the industry achieve its sustainability goals – particularly with regards to aviation. There is a plan for aviation to reach net zero but it can’t be achieved without Government support and action, and time is of the essence on this issue. It’s also important that policy changes are delivered in a way that protects the vast benefits that travel and tourism brings, both here at home and in communities around the world.
“It’s also important to remind the new Government of the ongoing challenges facing travel businesses of all sizes at present - such as the squeeze on consumer spending and repayment of COVID loans, as well as the opportunities available to support the sector, for example, through a youth mobility deal with the EU or business rates reform to incentivise high street trading.
“In the early months of this new Parliament and Government, ABTA will be actively engaging MPs and ministers on a wide range of policies, as outlined in our Manifesto for Travel and Tourism. We’ll also be speaking with members to encourage businesses to get involved with our efforts. Watch this space for more on activities the industry can get behind in the coming weeks."
