The government’s decision to “liberalise our international travel regime”, as transport secretary Grant Shapps put it, has been a long time coming. And its timing – coming into effect just before February half-term – suggests ministers may, at long last, have started to get an inkling of how the travel industry actually works.
That it has taken 22 months to understand the needs of the industry is frankly shameful, and highlights again why travel must continue to fight for a dedicated outbound travel minister to safeguard itself should another crisis strike.
But for now, industry bosses are rightly focused on servicing the soaring demand that followed the news of testing restrictions being eased. While easyJet plans to return to “near 2019 levels of flying this summer”, Jet2holidays has promised “more capacity on sale for summer 2022 than we did for summer 2019”.
Ski operators are similarly jubilant – research from aviation analytics specialists Cirium suggests flight schedules from the UK to Switzerland and Austria are this month expected to rise to their highest levels since March 2020.
True, industry leaders are anxious to stress the sector is “not yet out of the woods”, but after two dismal years, removing testing for the fully vaccinated is undoubtedly a crucial step forward.
As travel starts to rebound, the issue of sustainability becomes ever more important. In partnership with five new sustainability heroes, TTG is proud to be shining a spotlight on a year-long initiative to educate agents across the UK and Ireland on how holidays can have a positive impact – and how customers can be inspired to make more responsible choices.
It’s heartening to hear Shapps label 2022 “the year restrictions on travel are firmly placed in the past”. But it’s perhaps Intrepid’s Zina Bencheikh’s predictions that ring most true: “2022 is the time for fewer words and more action on sustainability”.
