The letter, addressed to transport minister Grant Shapps and chancellor Rishi Sunak, has three demands (see below) and will be delivered to both the DfT and Treasury next week, meaning there’s still time to add your name to the list of signatures.
Last week’s #SaveTravel Week also saw people from across the industry submitting letters to their MPs, with a number agreeing to raise the plight of the UK travel industry in parliament when it returns from recess next week.
One supporter, Pata chairman Chris Crampton, said: “Travel and tourism make up 9% of the UK’s GDP and supports four million jobs. It is not a “nice to have”, it is an essential part of the UK economy.
"Travel supports millions more around the globe too, and in the Asia Pacific region that includes some of the poorest people in the world. The UK travel trade has worked miracles over the last few months coping with the shutdown of their entire industry, both inbound and outbound.
"They worked tirelessly to manage consumer refunds and now they have the added uncertainty and workload from sudden changes to FCO travel advice to contend with. It is time for the government to recognise both the importance of travel to and from the UK, and that it is a force for good globally. We are not asking for favours, we are asking for fairness and support in our time of need to save our industry.”
TTG’s #SaveTravel campaign has three demands:
- Provide direct sector specific support for the UK travel industry and companies operating within it (including SMEs like travel agents and tour operators, not just airlines), which might include an extension to the furlough scheme. Without this, the country will see thousands of company failures and hundreds of thousands of job losses.
- Consider a holiday on Air Passenger Duty until the end of August 2021, to help with pricing and encourage consumers to start booking holidays again. The hospitality sector has been aided by the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. The travel industry is urgently requesting similar support from government too.
- Commit to providing more advance notice of changes to destinations’ quarantine statuses. Businesses cannot be run with such little planning and notice. Advance warning of destinations that may be “in the red zone” or are about to be switched off – and transparency on how decisions are being taken - is a necessity for the travel industry if businesses are to survive.
Read the letter to Grant Shapps and Rishi Sunak in full here.
