Speaking ahead of the Advantage Travel Partnership’s 2023 conference in Benidorm (20-23 May), Lo Bue-Said said the travel industry had barely even begun to feel or experience the full effect – in particular – of Brexit.
She highlighted the EU’s proposed Esta-style visa waiver scheme Etias, which will apply to arrivals into the bloc from third countries such as the post-Brexit UK, and the entry-exit system, which will introduce a whole new set of biometric border checks.
"People are still getting their heads around new passport rules," Lo Bue-Said continued. "All these rules are coming down the track. We’ve started talking about them, but fundamentally, there will be implications that will keep coming through.
"The world is getting more complex – people are travelling, [and] the role of travel agents, regardless of why people are travelling, is critical. That’s coming through not only in our surveys, but when we engage with our members.
"For me, it’s about the process of managing Brexit for travel. There is still a lot of confusion and for a lot of consumers, it’s just more angst and more concern."
Lo Bue-Said said it was absolutely vital agents were able to assist, with more than 80% of Advantage members seeing new customers over the past year. "That’s phenomenal," she said. "That’s new customers coming in, wanting advice, wanting handholding – that’s clearly really positive for us.
"But it shows you the complexities of travel nowadays. People are still anxious, there’s a lot to think about. There are changes as a result of Brexit that have not even hit our radar yet.
"We know about them, but they’re not even there yet so all of these things will need managing, and travel agents are in the best possible position."
