Three years after the first Covid restrictions were introduced, people are once again travelling the world for business and leisure. There is a significant spike in demand, forecasts look buoyant, and consumer spending on outbound travel was recently cited as a having been critical in saving the country from an all-out recession.

While it’s heartening to see the progress that has been made in a relatively short space of time, we must learn the lessons of the pandemic and future-proof our industry for whatever crisis might come next. We must also me mindful of the risks that exist in such positive trading environment. The outward appearance of success can distract from the reality of a situation that is far from stable, and result in a lack of recognition and support from a government that thinks the danger has passed.

The UK’s outbound travel industry was hammered by the pandemic, as leisure and business travel shut down overnight, and thousands of travel agents and tour operators saw their business evaporate. Many had to dig into their financial reserves to pay staff who worked around the clock, keeping up with demand to change and cancel journeys. This meant they were unable to access government support schemes, and many have been left saddled with thousands of pounds worth of debt.
 
Inflationary pressures have added to the melting pot of crises facing our industry. Energy prices have gone through the roof, and while government support is welcome it also constitutes only a portion of the issues at hand. A lack of specific considerations for SMEs has meant that many businesses are nowhere near being able to pay what they owe.

Business rates reform has proved the Achilles heel of successive administrations, who can only flirt with the idea of real progress before settling on measures that are performative at best. Taking the time to deliver actual change would be a worthy exercise and would deliver compound benefits to the high streets up and down the country.

These examples illustrate a larger problem facing our sector. The burden of unsuitable regulatory frameworks is coupled with lethargic policies that are in desperate need of revision. Smaller organisations do not have the time or the resource to be wading through reams of bureaucracy that are associated with the simplest of tasks. Streamlining the measures that govern our industry costs nothing to the government, but would hold enormous value for businesses across the country.

’Lack of meaningful action’

Meanwhile, two years after the UK formally left the EU, the debate over whether Brexit is really "done" is not over. The UK is no longer part of the single market, nor do we have free movement of people, but it’s hard to believe we are seeing the full benefits of our departure.

Brexit has given us a golden opportunity to free UK businesses from the shackles of regulation that tethered organisations to frameworks which felt alien and unnecessary, but progress has been slow and laboured. If this can be addressed, our industry has the potential to grow and thrive like never before. As it stands, though, rhetoric and reality remain poles apart, and the UK is moving slower, not faster than it was before.

The economic challenges facing the government are clear to see, and it’s understandable that their actions need to balance caution and opportunity. That said, it is deeply frustrating for sectors such as ours – made up largely of SMEs that are run by committed and hardworking business owners – to feel like "easy wins" that can be achieved via regulatory reform are being overlooked in favour of more politically attractive measures.

A lack of meaningful action on the changes to the regulations that our sector needs is magnified by the fact that outbound travel does not currently fall under the remit of one government minister. Instead, responsibility is shared across several departments meaning representation and visibility of the sector is diluted.

Bringing responsibility for outbound travel under into the brief of a single minister in the Department for Transport would not only result in better representation, but a deeper understanding of outbound travel in the corridors of power.

’Myriad challenges remain’

Over the past 12 months, the resilient powerhouse that is the global travel industry has shown its mettle in the fight to rebuild. This success is attributed to the people that have worked so tirelessly across the industry’s eco-system, and it is them that should take the credit for the recovery and resurgence. We still have work to do to attract new talent to our sector and create a revived sense of job security and belonging for the people that will take us forward.

Our members are part of the backbone of the UK’s business landscape, serving their communities and delivering huge value to local and regional economies. To see the opportunity for support being kicked into the long grass is a hard pill to swallow for business owners that have spent the last three years fighting for their survival.

This is not a question of wanting the government to take risky decisions during a period where stability remains important, but more urging it to make decisions based on real time, real-life needs rather than electoral ambitions.

While myriad challenges still remain, we must be positive and forward looking about what lies ahead and continue to be advocates for what can be achieved through strong policy making, collaboration with government and the hard work that we are renowned for.

Julia Lo Bue-Said is chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership.