It comes as Sir John Whittingdale – who is providing maternity cover for tourism minister Julia Lopez – raised the issue of post-16 travel and tourism qualifications at a Tourism Alliance conference early last week. 

“The comments made by tourism minister Sir John Whittingdale reiterating the government’s commitment to developing a youth mobility scheme to address the skills shortage in the travel industry tourism are very welcome,” said Lo Bue-Said, who has also met with Whittingdale to discuss the issue.

“Having the government recognise the challenges the UK outbound travel industry faces when it comes to skills shortages is an important step forward.”

According to the Advantage boss, the sector needs to provide a competitive offering – including increased salaries and better work/life balance – if it wants to attract a new and diverse workforce. 

Lo Bue-Said’s remarks come as the Abta and ITT-backed Tourism Education and Skills Working Group met recently to discuss the next phase of the sector’s response to government plans to defund all level 3 travel and tourism courses from September 2026. 

Established in April, the group is seeking input from the industry of what themes would need to be covered by any future higher education qualifications.