Abta confirms taskforce involvement after meeting absence

The association was conspicuous by its absence from the meeting chaired by transport secretary Grant Shapps after the Department for Transport (DfT) provided the full list of 31 attendees to TTG.

The list included representatives from across the aviation, maritime and international rail sectors, as well as industry bodies such as VisitBritain, UKinbound and UKHospitality, but not Abta.

Abta confirmed to TTG on Wednesday there was a mix-up with its invitation. An spokesperson stressed the association would continue to be "involved and engaged" with the taskforce’s activities, adding that it was promptly given a full recap of what was covered during the session.

The association will host a roundtable with government officials on Thursday (4 March), along with members of its Save Future Travel coalition, to share insights. It is also speaking to members about the proposals they want the association to put forward to the taskforce in future.

"We are involved and engaged with the taskforce, and have had several conversations and meetings with government about the work of the taskforce, the areas they are looking at and how we can feed into that to ensure travel agents and tour operators’ views are heard," said the Abta spokesperson.

"We are speaking to members about proposals for restarting travel to help guide the Global Travel Taskforce’s thinking and work."