ABTA statement following the Government announcing its new immigration policy position. 

"Tourism generates £146 billion in revenue within the UK and supports more than three million jobs across the country, it is one of the UK’s largest industries and a major success story. It is vital that the industry continues to have access to the talent it needs. The travel and tourism industry is committed to investing in skills and training, but with record low unemployment rates, immigration policy also has an important role to play. The lack of a temporary regime will not give businesses sufficient time to transition to new arrangements and will likely have a very damaging effect on businesses that are reliant on EU workers.

“We hope the Government will engage with and listen to businesses to ensure the right policies are in place for our industry to continue to succeed.

“In addition, as the Government prepares to enter trade talks with the EU, new reciprocal arrangements will be needed to replace the benefits of the EU Posted Workers Directive, which sustains 15,000 UK-based jobs, and to secure a reciprocal youth mobility scheme with EU countries."

You can find out more at ABTA's Brexit – The Immigration and Skills Challenge event on 24 February in London when we will be launching a new report on securing the future of the travel and tourism industry workforce.