Pippa Jacks: 'Sensitive travel marketing could bring lockdown relief'

That’s certainly how the ongoing lack of clarity around customer refunds has begun to feel too, after travel firms spent yet another week desperately waiting for an update from the government on whether or not Package Travel Regulations will be eased.

In TTG’s virtual seminar last week, Abta boss Mark Tanzer assured us: “We’ve been making those arguments very strongly.” But with no news as we headed into the Easter weekend, tour operators and travel agents could have been forgiven for thinking it was beginning to look unlikely.

At the same time, last week saw Abta launch a new campaign, asking the industry to contact their local MP to plead for the rules to be relaxed (p8 and p28), in order to avert mass company failures that would put customers’ money in greater jeopardy.

More than 21,000 emails have already been sent, reaching 647 of the UK’s 650 MPs – representing the loudest and most unified front the retail and operator sectors have so far mounted to government.