With an anticipated reach of 5 million people, next week ABTA is launching our latest customer-facing campaign in order to answer questions the travelling public and businesses may have about Brexit affecting their ability visit the EU. This follows the welcome news last week that flight schedules between the UK and EU will be unaffected until at least October 2020. 

Our latest advice is available on our website at abta.com/brexit and we will be pushing out our messages proactively via national radio, digital and social channels such as Facebook to highlight that flights, ferries and trains will still operate even in the event of a no-deal exit on 31 October. 

We want to help the public feel confident about booking holidays and travel arrangements, especially over the important half-term period. As the government information campaign “Get Ready for Brexit” ramps up too, people will realise how they may be affected, and this may raise questions about passport validity, healthcare provision, driving permits and taking pets abroad.

As part of the campaign ABTA is actively marketing October as one of the savviest times of the year to take a break, with warm weather in many destinations and fewer crowds. Our latest website blog on ‘Why and where to take the family on holiday in October’ can be read here and marketing assets that are free for Members to use will be available next week.  

There will still be many twists and turns in the political process between now and the 31 October so our advice to businesses remains to prepare for a no-deal exit because it still might happen. Our guidance on this for Members can be found here.

Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive