Robin Walker, MP for Worcester, visited arrangeMYescape as part of a joint visit with Worcester BID, the city’s Business Improvement District organisation.

The visit came after Walker visited in January 2018 to officiate at the opening of the arrangeMYescape office.

General manager Jennifer Lynch told TTG the team discussed various industry issues, ranging from the impact of the Covid downturn to the UK’s quarantine regime and the need for airport testing.

"I pointed out to him that, as an industry, we are desperate for support, and that there are areas that need to be reviewed urgently for us to survive," said Lynch.

"I explained that it has been extremely challenging and more so than any other local business or industry, where we have had to work and yet refund everything back, while losing money and still continuing to work hard and support our clients.

"I voiced my opinion about how customers felt and why we weren’t seeing the upsurge in bookings as we normally would - mostly surrounding consumer confidence and the change in rules and quarantine measures, which is almost now a joke."

Lynch added that she had also brought up the issue of testing for Covid-19 at UK airports with the MP.

"I asked why Covid testing in airports is not being introduced and he said it just wasn’t accurate enough as you could develop symptoms at a later stage," said Lynch.

"Whilst we understood this, I put to him why Border Force in airports is not checking incoming flights and asking for health forms - this makes a mockery of the quarantine and track and trace."

During the visit, the team was able to show Walker the agency’s TTG Top 50 central England trophy after being named among the Top 50 travel agencies in the country.

"Mr Walker was over the moon, as he was the person who officially opened our office in January 2018," said Lynch.

She added she hoped the team’s efforts to engage with their local MP would help raise further awareness of the #SaveTravel campaign in parliament.