Author: Simon Bunce, Director of Legal Affairs, ABTA

The themes underpinning this year’s conference are getting back to business and looking to the future. The seismic shocks that have affected the travel industry over the past two years still reverberate making a smooth recovery difficult. This conference will look at how we can navigate our way through those difficulties and look ahead to a more stable and positive future.

The full effect of the changes brought about by the 2018 Package Travel Regulations will now be felt as bookings and operations return to near normal and we analyse those and the impact of the stresses that the pandemic brought to the travel sector. At the conference we will dig down into the detail of how to manage your business in a world that faces more uncertainty than ever and explore how you can reduce the risks that are inherent in operating a travel business today.

Relationships with suppliers and other business partners have been increasingly under the spotlight as questions of responsibility and liability have come to the fore when systems break down. The necessity to ensure that you have clear contractual arrangements in place has never been more evident and we will be discussing how to manage those supplier, staff and customer relationships including changes to data protection obligations, cross border and jurisdiction concerns and tax.

As we discuss these issues we will have a strong focus on the impact of the UK leaving the EU, the full effects of which are now becoming clearer as business picks up, people start travelling and travel companies’ business operations are affected.

The courts have now started to deal with cases that arose through the pandemic and we are seeing the results of those come through which will help our understanding of cases that arise as people begin travelling again and encounter the inevitable hurdles. We will be hearing from colleagues that have had hands on experiences of dealing with customer claims through the pandemic, experiences that have led to some positive changes to the way that claims are handled and managed. 

And we will be very much looking at how the regulators see the future. The Civil Aviation Authority and the Competition & Markets Authority are both actively considering changes to how they manage issues that arise in the travel industry, whether that is with regard to the protection of customer monies or wider consumer protection and consumer rights.

Understanding what might be coming down the line and preparing for that has never been more important than at this critical moment in the reopening of the travel sector.

If there is one thing that this past two years has taught us, it is that, even when the most extraordinary things happen, you cannot ignore the law. Understanding what that means for your business is more important than ever.

The Travel Law Seminar is the industry’s most comprehensive legal update, bringing together legal professionals, travel business leaders and regulators for a complete update on all the legal issues facing travel. The event is taking place over two days on 9-10 May at Deloitte’s offices in central London. ABTA Members and Partners can book at discounted rates. Use the event to contribute towards your CPD. 

Download the full agenda find out more and register your place here.