Nicholls, appearing virtually at the Advantage Travel Partnership conference on Sunday (21 May), told delegates outbound travel firstly needs to work out what its key issues are when lobbying with ministers. "Work out what unites you and what the key areas are you want to have a voice on,” she said.
UKHospitality was created in 2018 and was structured in such a way that it was very clearly able to communicate its priorities to government during the pandemic, said Nicholls.
The travel sector, she said, needs to clearly articulate its importance to the government, focusing specifically on how it can help ministers achieve key targets and objectives, such as sustainability and employment.
“It’s about working out why you matter and, more importantly, what you can deliver for the government and being very slimmed down about it,” said the UKHospitality chief.
Nicholls’ comments were echoed by Advantage chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said, who urged agents to engage with government at all levels in order to be “in a good position when the next crisis comes along".
“We should absolutely put ourselves in a position where our economic sector has the right relationship and government engagement so that it is thought of as a sector that is strategic and important for the government,” Lo Bue-Said added. "We were too insular with our narrative [during Covid]."
Lo Bue-Said delivered an impassioned opening address on Sunday morning, telling delegates the industry can’t afford to be overlooked by Westminster again.
"Our industry was not looked after during Covid so, quite simply, I believe more needs to happen and change if we are to be looked after when we hit our next crises," she told delegates.
“A senior government official recently said to me they were surprised travel agents still existed – it’s not the first time we’ve heard this. It’s simply not an option to let the people running the country think this way."
