Conference season kicks off this week with the Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth, followed by the Conservative Party conference in Manchester before Labour’s get-together in Liverpool.
Abta confirmed its proposals to extend the youth mobility scheme to EU countries to make up for the loss, post-Brexit, of the ability to post workers overseas would be a key focus for its lobby effort.
Luke Petherbridge, Abta’s director of public affairs, said: “It’s a big few weeks for UK politics as the major parties use their conferences to kick-start their election campaigns and make their cases for why they should be given the keys to Number 10 at the next election.
“For Abta, it’s a great opportunity to connect with MPs and candidates. When you’re up for election, you want to show you understand the constituency you represent and show support to local people and businesses.
“This is where our constituency-level data on outbound travel is hugely valuable.”
The UK outbound travel industry contributes £49 billion to the UK economy, supporting around 840,000 jobs, according to Abta.
The data also shows the industry is going to grow by 15% by 2027, compared with 2019, outstripping forecasts of 10.3% growth for the overall UK economy over the same period.
Petherbridge added: “Travel is a major contributor to the UK – and there is a big policy agenda that we’re engaging with. We’re looking forward to these conversations at party conferences and forging relationships with current and future MPs.”
Abta’s public affairs lead also reminded Abta members that template materials are available to them on abta.com, which they can share with their local MP or candidate.
