Representative ImageABTA – The Travel Association (ABTA) and Seasonal Businesses in Travel (SBiT) have revealed new research showing strong public support for securing a youth experience deal with the EU, as it urges the government to press ahead with negotiations with the EU following May’s UK-EU Summit.
A new survey, commissioned by ABTA with YouGov, found that 76% of Brits support a deal with the EU to enable young people to work, live, and study overseas for temporary periods. The poll found strong support amongst all voter types, with even 61% of those who voted to the leave the EU in 2016 in favour of a deal on youth mobility.
The associations say this matters for the health of the UK’s outbound travel sector, which brings more than £52bn a year in Gross Value Added to the UK economy, because many of the workers in the industry started their careers in temporary roles overseas and around two-thirds of all UK holidays overseas are taken within the EU annually.
Previous research by ABTA and SBiT, revealed over a third of all workers, and nearly half of industry leaders, worked in similar roles earlier in their careers. There has also been a notable fall in opportunities for young people to find these roles since the UK voted to leave the EU, with the number of UK nationals working in tourism support roles – such as travel reps, having fallen by 69% since then.
The bodies are also asking the government to prioritise several other travel-related areas in future talks with the EU, and notes that the polling found strong support for the economic benefits of closer relations with the EU – with 66% of respondents saying they believe a closer relationship would improve the UK economy. The survey also found majority support for general closer relations with the EU, with 57% in favour versus 12% who felt relations should be more distant[1].
Luke Petherbridge, ABTA’s Director of Public Affairs, said: “We know that travel is one of the most noticeable areas that has been altered by the UK’s departure from the EU – with Brits now having to join different passport queues, and changes to the in-destination experience of UK holidaymakers as it has become harder for travel companies to hire get UK staff into Europe.
“We welcomed the UK-EU deal in May. We now need to see progress on the items within the deal, such as enhanced use of egates and, importantly, restoring opportunities for young people from the UK to live and work in the EU, which often is the way people take their first steps into a career in travel. Securing these changes will help the industry to grow and to continue to be successful.” 2
However, the association also says that the government must look to build on the UK-EU agreement in May, by developing further cooperation with the EU to benefit travellers and the industry.
Luke Petherbridge, Director of Public Affairs, continued: “There are important changes to border arrangements being made by both sides currently, with the UK introducing our Electronic Travel Authority earlier this year, and the EU’s Entry/Exit System going live in October, to be followed by their own pre-travel authorisation system expected in 2026. These changes require ongoing attention to avoid disruption, especially for certain types of travel such as those on school trips.
“Future deals must be reached to avoid new barriers being placed to travel. The polling undertaken this weekend demonstrates that there is strong support for this approach among the UK public.”
Charles Owen, Managing Director at SBIT said:“The industry has been held back by the lack of mobility arrangements. Whilst some temporary arrangements have been agreed, these are not universal – and are unilateral, so offer little certainty. A UK-EU wide agreement will offer a partial solution, and we’d encourage ministers to get on and do the deal”.
