Supporting consumer confidence while at the same time demonstrating the impact the pandemic has had on the travel industry has been a delicate balancing act the travel industry has had to manage during the pandemic. No more so than now, when travel is more open than it has been so far this year, but when the opportunity to trade is still heavily restricted and businesses face the pressure of the end of furlough and business rates relief.
 
I know ABTA Members have been working hard to try to make the most of the opportunities available for people to travel. Providing customers with the right information they need – including testing, documents required etc – is a big part of helping people book and travel with confidence. ABTA is supporting Members with this: we have the information customers need to know on travelling during the pandemic at our online hub – www.abta.com/readysteadytravel, and we have marketing materials to help Members communicate this information to customers, which are available in the Member Zone.
 
The recent dreary British weather, and the higher prices for UK holidays, as reported by the BBC yesterday, mean more people may be looking to head off overseas for a warmer and cheaper holiday. As part of the #ReadySteadyTravel campaign we have also been working to inspire people to take a foreign trip, including by sharing Members’ social media content on their own recent overseas breaks and running a new advertising campaign with ABTA Members’ insider tips on holiday destinations. There is still time to get involved in the campaign – more details are available here. We also continue to engage with national and local media on the great destinations people can travel to at the moment and will be doing more work on this to coincide with the bank holiday weekend and latest traffic light update.
 
At the same time as working to support consumer confidence we continue to reinforce the message to Government, MPs and the media on the sector’s unique challenges and the precarious situation created by the lack of financial support and future withdrawal of general support measures, such as furlough. To help support our lobbying activity we will shortly be circulating a new Member survey to establish up to date evidence on the impact of the pandemic on ABTA Members.
 

Travel Convention

We look ahead to the Travel Convention on 13 October – where we will explore the theme Leading the Way – envisaging and inspiring in extraordinary times. The Convention will provide an opportunity for us to come together to reflect on the world in which we find ourselves and the industry we want to build – as well as be inspired by those with the vision for the way forward. These extraordinary times have called for dynamic leadership and at this year’s Convention, we’ll be recognising what our industry has achieved in the face of adversity and sharing valuable insights from the frontline of this crisis. More details on the Convention can be found here.