Is it that everything’s very difficult and there are obstacles to a smooth getaway? Or would you prefer to know that new developments are manageable with the right understanding, guidance and planning? And if you’re in the business of selling holidays, which of these messages would you prefer customers to hear?

Abta’s approach with communications is to strike a balance between informing and advising consumers about developments in our sector while maintaining their confidence in buying a holiday. It can be a difficult tightrope to walk sometimes, but a necessary one.

And yet, there have been many times – firstly during the pandemic but more recently over the past few months – where others in our industry are taking a different approach. It has the potential to damage our sector.

I don’t think it’s right to name those I have in mind. But let me give some examples of where it’s been happening.

During the Border Force strikes over Christmas and the February half-term holidays, Abta’s media message was to reassure consumers, be clear mitigation measures were in place, reiterate no one would be affected upon leaving the UK and that, on return, the use of eGates (among other measures) meant that long queues were unlikely. Yet others from our own industry were out there warning there would be disruption and how awful that would be, which was quite different to the eventual situation.

Take passport applications. This year, the government is maintaining its guidance that people should allow 10 weeks to receive their new passport – some believe this is over-cautious given that many passports are processed more quickly. So, how best to give a view on that in the media? You could claim it’s a terrible decision but offer no more insight. Some did exactly that, and all this did was to highlight problems with holidays in customers’ minds.

Instead, Abta took time to contact the Passport Office, better understand the decision, and then give constructive and rational advice for what the guidance meant for the traveller – we weren’t acting as a mouthpiece for the Passport Office, but were presenting sensible advice designed to both help customers and maintain their confidence in travel.

Meanwhile, the new Etias visa scheme for the EU has been making the news recently. While it’s a development the travel industry and customers need to be aware of, it’s not going to be a significant barrier to booking holidays. At seven euros for a three-year validity, it will cost much less per year than the price of a pint of beer.

It must not be forgotten people have travelled to the US for years while needing an Esta – that hasn’t stopped it being the second most popular destination UK holidaymakers say they want to visit this year. Yet again, some commentary has been solely about the barrier this represents to travel.

‘Mountains out of molehills’

Looking further back, many may remember that in the days of the pandemic traffic light system, we weren’t short of people going on air to speculate – often completely wrongly – that country ‘A’ would be coming off the red list, or country ‘B’ joining it, rather than waiting to advise people on the facts. It got headlines and coverage for the commentators involved, but just made consumer confusion and confidence even worse.

Part of the art of good communications is considering the impact your words can have on a wide range of audiences. For the sake of chasing headlines, there have been times when consumers’ likelihood of booking a holiday may have been dented, and the ability to build constructive relationships with government and decision-makers will also have been affected.

Plainly, we can’t say everything’s wonderful if it’s not, but we also shouldn’t needlessly make mountains out of molehills.

So the next time you see a representative of the travel industry on TV, hear them on radio, or see what they’re saying in the press or on social media, ask yourself – is what they are saying helping me, my business and my customers?

You have my assurance that Abta’s spokespeople will always seek to represent the industry accurately, fairly and in such a way that we help consumers "travel with confidence".

Graeme Buck is Abta’s director of communications.