22 Oct
2020

Highlights from ABTA’s virtual Travel Convention 2020

On 14 October ABTA held its first virtual Travel Convention, attended by 450 travel industry leaders and 50 journalists. 

In response to a Government address from Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, Mark Tanzer requested sector-specific support for the travel industry, a regional approach to foreign office advice, travel corridors that are open and urgent results on testing from the Global Travel Taskforce. In less than 24 hours, the event generated over 100 pieces of media coverage, in national and trade press. Mark’s speech was covered by the Guardian, BBC, Independent and Telegraph.

Gloria Guevara, Chief Executive of the World Travel & Tourism Council outlined the WTTC’s 100 million Job Recovery Plan, but stressed that progress cannot be delayed until a vaccine is widely available. She called for testing and the removal of blanket quarantines, saying that ‘other crises had proven that it is possible to have a faster, v-shape recovery if you act in a co-ordinated way”.

Jennifer Anderson, Director for Consular Affairs at the FCDO discussed the global advice that has been in place for seven months, telling the audience that the advice isn’t static and it will change. “As infection and mortality rates evolve and treatments improve, the risks to travellers will improve”. 

Raoul Ruparel, Brexit advisor for Deloitte, gave an update on Brexit as the negotiations reached a critical stage. He said that challenges raised by Brexit and COVID-19 were likely to collide at the end of the year related to changes in supply chains and border protocols. But he said a separate aviation deal was likely to be agreed, even in the event of a no deal.

Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG, told Ian Taylor from Travel Weekly that even if a testing regime and travel corridors are agreed, consumer sentiment towards travelling is likely to be low without a vaccine. On the prospects for 2021, she said there was a 50% probability that it would not be a normal tourism season next summer. Selfin said she expected staycations to be strong again next year as people look to holiday within their own countries. Longer-term, she expected overseas holidays to remain in high demand and people will want to travel as soon as they feel it is safe to do so. 

We heard from a number of industry speakers including John Bevan, Chief Executive of Dnata who laid bare the current challenges for travel businesses, but also discussed the possibility of pent up demand once travel restarts. Virgin Atlantic’s Chief Executive, Shai Weiss criticised the Government for their response to COVID-19 in travel, saying things could have been done better. He said that an efficient test, trace and isolate system and the removal of quarantine would be vital to recovery in the UK. 

ABTA launched a new report 'Tourism for Good – A Roadmap for Rebuilding Travel and Tourism'. Jo Fairley, who co-founded the ethical and organic chocolate brand Green & Blacks praised the report saying it pushed the industry in the right direction. She urged travel firms to recognise the importance of a social and environmental footprint - “People are looking for products, organisations and brands that show they care for people and for the planet.” And “People want to work for an organisation with strong social and environmental values.”

Workforce issues featured heavily at the event. Freshworks and Mercer provided insights on new ways of working and how attitudes to the workplace are changing. Dr Paul Redmond from Liverpool University said the COVID-19 pandemic had speeded up the evolution of the workplace. In order to survive, he said all businesses needed to behave like start-ups, no matter what sector, which means “networking, building contacts, taking on staff with the right attitude and then training them, listening “aggressively” to what customers say and asking clients what they think”. 

The message from a workshop moderated by Jamie-Lee Abtar from BAME Women in Travel, was that diversity and inclusion will improve a company’s reputation and help them to recover from the COVID-19 crisis more quickly. Avis and Celebrity Cruises backed up this message with experiences from their own companies.

ABTA Partner+ RSM produced a report for the travel industry and focussed on workplace and employment issues in their workshop. RSM reported that almost 90% of travel businesses made use of the government’s furlough job support scheme throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. With pre-pandemic trading levels expected back by 2022, almost a third of businesses plan to restructure their current operations and over a quarter said they are looking to access further finance. Around 40 per cent are considering a change to their operational footprint or are planning to relocate existing sites, with more working from home expected. Getting the online experience right is also a priority, with 25 per cent of business planning to invest in new technology.

Practical workshops included Tourism for good, employment strategies, long-term recovery for travel, preparing for future pandemics, health and safety operations and recovery in destinations, diversity and equality in practice, Brexit preparedness and digital transformation. 

All sessions were recorded and are available via the virtual platform, content will be available until 14 November.

You can view the agenda here or click here to purchase on-demand access to the event.