Abta pledges to 'continue to make case on need to learn Covid lessons’

Abta represented its members at the government’s UK Covid-19 Inquiry as it pledged to “continue to make the case on the need to learn lessons from Covid”.

 

Luke Petherbridge, director of public affairs, attended a round-table discussion on Tuesday, May 13 to remind the government of the issues the industry faced during the pandemic, as well as the positive impact it continues to make to the UK economy following its “remarkable bounce back”.

 

“We raised a number of issues including the need for better cohesion across government and the UK’s devolved administrations, as well as the operational difficulties caused by the traffic light regime,” said chief executive Mark Tanzer in a blog post published after the event.

 

“We also highlighted the inconsistencies in government guidance and how this applied to different parts of the travel industry.”

 

Tanzer explained how agents were “initially overlooked” for the government’s discretionary grants scheme until Abta “successfully lobbied for high street agents to be included, bringing in some much-needed financial assistance”.

 

“But we know from our discussions and support to members at the time, that many businesses received varying levels of support depending on where they were based and the priorities of their local councils,” he added.

 

Tanzer also noted that the furlough scheme “didn’t cater for the realities travel businesses faced and the need for staff to process refunds and provide support to customers”, while acknowledging it was "certainly a helpful initiative". 

 

He described travel businesses facing the withdrawal of financial support eight months before travel was able to reopen as “problematic”.

 

Abta also used the opportunity to highlight to the government how crucial the travel sector is for the growth of the UK economy.

 

Tanzer said: “We did also take the opportunity to stress the remarkable bounce back in international travel once UK restrictions were lifted, emphasising the value travel brings to the UK economy and its role in driving growth.

 

“And we of course stressed the growing appreciation for organised travel – and the role that travel agents and tour operators play when something goes wrong, which consumers tell us they increasingly value.”

 

Tanzer said the issues the association raised at the inquiry “echo what we said during the pandemic, and with our engagements with government straight after”.

 

He added: “We will continue to make the case on the need to learn lessons from Covid.”

 

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry was set up to examine the UK’s response to and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and learn lessons for the future.

 

Travel businesses have the opportunity to share their personal stories and experiences with the inquiry directly through a process called Every Story Matters.

 

The deadline to submit is May 23.