The travel associations and bodies behind the Save Future Travel Coalition are urging colleagues from across the travel industry to sign a new petition to Parliament on the need for tailored support for the travel industry in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

The petition, which launched on Monday 5 October 2020, needs 10,000 signatures for the Government to respond, and 100,000 signatures to be discussed in Parliament. The petition is available to sign at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/552725

The Save Future Travel petition says:

HM Government to outline a plan to Save Future Travel
The Government should urgently consider the Save Future Travel Coalition’s plan to support travel businesses and protect jobs:

• Fully regionalised quarantine policy
• Introduction of testing
• Review of the Job Support Scheme
• Recovery grants for SMEs and travel businesses that missed out on previous support 
• APD relief for summer 2021 to boost demand.

The Winter Economy Plan will not save travel. The UK has a world-leading travel industry, which in ordinary times supports over 100 million trips annually (inbound and outbound). Businesses in the sector make an economic contribution of more than £60bn every year and employ close to 1 million people across the UK. However, the travel industry has been among the hardest hit by COVID-19, with measures to control the pandemic denting confidence in travel and delaying the recovery of the sector.

Members of the trade associations are also being encouraged to write to their MPs, with template letters available at www.abta.com/savefuturetravel.

Luke Petherbridge, ABTA’s Director of Public Affairs said:

“The Save Future Travel petition builds on the work ABTA and the other Coalition partners have been doing over the recent weeks to put the industry’s case to Government Ministers and officials about the desperate need for tailored support for the travel industry. It also supports the ongoing efforts of industry representatives who are using our template emails to reach out to their local MPs, and will further raise awareness of our plight.

“We have seen Government respond to the need for ongoing salary support and business support measures, but the plans unveiled in the Chancellors’ Winter Economy Plan do not go far enough. The Job Support Scheme misses the mark for most travel businesses, and we strongly encourage the Government to review the scheme. We also need to see urgent progress on testing, and a fully regionalised approach to quarantine rules, as already happens in Germany and elsewhere, in order to restore the confidence in travel that will be critical to recovery.” 

Endorsing and underlining the coalition’s petition, Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association (SPAA) President Joanne Dooey emphasised the need for urgency on the part of the Government:

“I cannot stress highly enough the seriousness of the current plight of the travel industry, and I urge the Government to act decisively and positively before it is too late.”
 

About ABTA:
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.