This was the message from Abta and UKInbound, who have joined forces to urge chancellor Jeremy Hunt to consider the "unique position" travel businesses are in as he prepares to deliver a new fiscal vision for the UK after Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-Budget in September.
The trade bodies said despite a "decent" summer, the industry is trailing other sectors when it comes to its recovery and has entered the cost of living crisis at a "very different starting point" to the rest of the UK economy.
Compared to the retail and hospitality sectors, which had Covid-related restrictions lifted in July 2021, international travel started to return only after UK travel restrictions were lifted in March this year.
The associations said it is important the government "strikes the right balance" between raising money for the Treasury amid the cost of living crisis and providing the industry with enough finance to recover.
Abta and UKInbound’s five-point plan for supporting the industry’s recovery and harnessing growth includes introducing a freeze on Air Passenger Duty (APD) for the remainder of the current parliamentary term and extending energy and business rate support for travel businesses beyond March 2023.
They have also called for the central authority to work with the British Business Bank to encourage lenders to adopt a "sympathetic view" to travel businesses; reinstate the VAT reclaim scheme; and create a fully digitalised youth group visa application process to reverse the decline in youth group travel.
Mark Tanzer, chief executive of Abta, said: "The autumn statement will be a pivotal moment for the UK’s international travel industry and will shape its future ability to grow over the next few years.
"Getting the right tax and policy framework would see travel businesses continue to build on a decent summer, paving the way for strong recovery, which would support jobs, contributions to the Exchequer and the UK’s wider economic recovery."
