Lord Snape stood in on Wednesday morning (15 June) for child abuse and protection barrister, professor Jo Delahunty, who was unable to attend the conference after coming down with Covid-19.
Bringing a unique insight into the corridors of power, Lord Snape urged the government to listen more closely to the voice of the travel industry – aiming a barb at transport secretary Grant Shapps.
He told the conference how the government’s Global Travel Taskforce, which was fronted by Shapps, became known as the "invisible man". "I would like to know from people how much contact they had," he said.
In a wide-ranging address, Lord Snape touched on the government’s response to the pandemic from a travel perspective, the challenges that yet lie ahead and the industry’s longer-term prospects.
"You tried to say the industry needed specific support," he said. "The answer came back that the fact so much money had been put into the furlough contributed to the survival of the industry.
"We did point out that so far as the travel industry was concerned, a lot of companies needed to keep people on. The phones needed to be answered."
Lord Snape, though, insisted travel’s voice was heard in both houses – the House of Commons and the House of Lords – but admitted there was scant consultation with the industry and a lack of consensus on the best way forward for travel.
He said the industry needed more assistance from government to alleviate the burdens the pandemic placed on businesses and structures within travel.
Brexit has played a role too, said Lord Snape, stating that while he wasn’t in favour of the UK joining the union in the 1970s, he saw little point at this stage in tearing up the relationship the UK had with such a significant and nearby bloc.
"We have to find a better way, a better relationship," he said. "And it won’t come about by breaking an international treaty," he added, alluding to the government’s plans, revealed this week, to scrap parts of the post-Brexit deal concerning Northern Ireland.
Introducing Lord Snape, ITT chair Steven Freudmann admitted there were times over the past three years since the conference in Istanbul was announced that he feared it may never go ahead. Lord Snape said the industry was now on the road to recovery.
"This industry is bouncing back in a way that if the government pulls its finger out can be a great success," he said. "You provide more joy to the people of this country [the UK] than the government has in its lifetime. This industry is bouncing back with enormous resilience from the pandemic."
