As the lifting of quarantine restrictions for returning passengers from 10 July and a new risk-based traffic light system begin to reopen international travel, ABTA is continuing to support Members and the wider travel industry’s road to recovery by giving customers advice they need to book with confidence. 

Today, ABTA is unveiling a new, dedicated, customer-focused webpage titled ‘Restarting travel – a guide for customers’ which is designed to take travellers through extra steps to consider as their holiday experience is likely to be different.

Available at abta.com/restartingtravel, the advice includes how to plan for their trip abroad, what to expect from their package holiday once they arrive in-destination, and considerations for their return to the UK. The page also highlights that health, safety, hygiene and security measures will be in place, which will naturally make their holiday look and feel different to previous experiences. 

Promoted via a social advertising campaign set to reach more than 500,000 prospective holidaymakers, the new webpage aims to support Members by helping to manage customers’ expectations for their package holiday and underlining the value of booking with an ABTA Member who can offer them support and guidance. In addition, ABTA plans to share travel related content across its social channels with #restartingtravel to show customers how destinations are reopening and preparing to welcome British travellers this summer.

Importantly, the latest independent research shows that, against a backdrop of unprecedented challenges for the industry, the ABTA logo continues to resonate with customers that associate the brand with confidence, security and protection¹. 

Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive at ABTA – The Travel Association, said:

“Months of travel restrictions have understandably led to a pent up demand for holidays, with many holidaymakers eager to book a well-deserved break. As international travel begins to restart, it’s important that ABTA, as a trusted travel organisation, provides customers with information and advice that will help them book with confidence. This new webpage will guide holidaymakers through the considerations when it comes to planning a holiday in this new environment and will be updated with the latest guidance as the opportunities to travel continue to evolve.”

¹Conducted in June 2020 by independent consultancy, The Nursery, the research revealed than 7 out of 10 respondents associate the brand most strongly with safety, confidence, reassurance, reliability and support – the five values that have been highly associated with ABTA at consistent levels for the past ten years.

Notes to editors

ABTA has been a trusted travel brand for 70 years. Our purpose is to help our Members to grow their businesses successfully and sustainably, and to help their customers travel with confidence. 

The ABTA brand stands for support, protection and expertise. This means consumers have confidence in ABTA and a strong trust in ABTA Members. These qualities are core to us as they ensure that holidaymakers remain confident in the holiday products that they buy from our Members. 

We help our Members and their customers navigate through today's changing travel landscape by raising standards in the industry; offering schemes of financial protection; providing an independent complaints resolution service should something go wrong; giving guidance on issues from sustainability to health and safety and by presenting a united voice to government to ensure the industry and the public get a fair deal.

ABTA has more than 4,300 travel brands in Membership, providing a wide range of leisure and business travel services, with a combined annual UK turnover of £39 billion. For more details about what we do, what being an ABTA Member means and how we help the British public travel with confidence visit www.abta.com.