Charity is also appealing for colleagues to donate to those in crisis

ABTA LifeLine is giving away 30 Christmas dinners to people in the travel industry who are going through hardship this time of year. Successful beneficiaries will be sent food vouchers to spend in their local supermarket to buy their special dinner. 

Under a campaign entitled ‘Gift of Christmas’, the charity is calling on peers to spread the word and tell friends and colleagues in the travel industry about the support LifeLine can provide this season.

Current or former travel industry professionals can nominate themselves or someone else who is experiencing financial difficulty this year by filling out a Gift of Christmas application form. Applicants will need to upload supporting documents, photo ID and proof of having worked for an ABTA Member. 

The charity is also urging everyone to consider donating to colleagues through LifeLine. By providing travel professionals with practical help – such as essential household appliances or covering priority bills such as rent or utilities – LifeLine tailors its support to meet the needs of peers in crisis.

ABTA LifeLine Director, Trudie Clements, said:

“Christmas can be a time of real hardship and we are delighted that we will bring some relief to 30 families from all over the country. If you think a special dinner will help alleviate your current circumstances – or know someone for whom it will – please send us an application form.

“This is also a time for giving, so for those who can, please consider donating the cost of your favourite gingerbread latte, your Christmas cards or even your office Secret Santa to ABTA LifeLine. I'm sure those who would have received it would be happy to know this donation has gone to a really good cause.”

To donate, visit the ABTA LifeLine Gift of Christmas fundraising page and to find out more about applying for one of the Christmas dinners, visit the ABTA LifeLine website.
 
Notes to editors

ABTA LifeLine is ABTA’s charity for past and present employees of ABTA Members. The charity provides support for the unexpected moments in life such as redundancy, relationship breakdown, accidents and bereavement among many other things.

It gives practical, financial and emotional assistance to travel colleagues that are really struggling, throwing them a LifeLine in their time of need. 

About ABTA 
ABTA has been a trusted travel brand for over 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.