The UK and European Union have announced a free trade deal with the European Union, just days before the Brexit deadline on December 31.
Prime minister Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen held talks throughout Wednesday (December 23), and the British and EU negotiating teams finalised details today after talks continued overnight.
An Abta spokesperson said: “Abta welcomes confirmation that a trade deal has been reached. It is vital that we avoid additional uncertainty for the travel industry at a time when businesses are struggling with the impact of Covid-19.
“While there will still be changes, and businesses need to prepare for those, securing a deal will ensure that vital transport links are maintained, and provide at least some basis for the continued entry of tourism workers from the UK into the EU.
“Abta will now be looking closely at the details to understand fully what this means for travel businesses and travellers.
“Comprehensive advice for customers travelling to the EU from January 1 can be found on abta.com, in particular the need for customers to take out travel insurance rather than relying on an Ehic card and ensuring that passports have at least six months’ validity.”
Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, tweeted: “An agreed Brexit deal gives a much needed boast of some certainty for business and whilst there will be a great amount of detail to digest we can at least just move forward.”
Patricia Yates, director of strategy and communications at VisitBritain, said the news is a “welcome boost for tourism, reassuring visitors on the practicalities of travel so they can plan their trips with confidence and providing long-awaited certainty for businesses to be able to drive bookings”.
She added: “With short-haul European markets forecast to recover quicker than long-haul, it also sends a timely message of reassurance at a critical time for the industry as we work to stimulate demand and bookings to drive the return of international tourism spend.”
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Martin Ferguson, vice-president of public affairs at American Express Global Business Travel, said: “The long-awaited UK-EU trade deal is positive news and provides some sense of certainty.
“A tariff and quota-free arrangement limits trade barriers, which helps businesses plan for the future.
“We are still poring over the detail, but the accord should lessen the risk of disruption to seamless travel between the UK and Europe.
“In the short term, we continue to appeal to the government to find safe, quarantine-free solutions for business travellers, particularly the prioritisation of a pilot air corridor between New York and London.”
Brittany Ferries said in a statement: “The very fact that a deal has been struck will come as a relief to transporters and companies which rely on the cross-channel links guaranteed by companies like Brittany Ferries.
“Just as importantly, the news serves as a much-needed tonic for holidaymakers who may have delayed plans for a 2021 summer holiday while awaiting an end to Brexit uncertainty.
“Alongside the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines early next year, a Brexit deal therefore hints at brighter skies ahead, following the devastating storms of 2020.”
Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said the deal provides “much needed certainty for passengers and our aviation sector”.
“We will continue to engage constructively with the government on some of the challenges that will arise from the new EU-UK relationship and on the urgent need for a full aviation recovery package to enable airports to support the government’s global Britain ambitions,” she added.
“This must be matched with the elimination of quarantine which is currently holding back passenger demand by putting in place a comprehensive, UK-wide testing system, which could include cheaper and quicker tests as well as pre-departure tests.”
Gloria Guevara, World Travel & Tourism Council president and chief executive, commented that “the travel and tourism sector will be breathing a sigh of relief” about the “11th-hour” deal.
“It is good news for a sector which has been crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic and which feared the consequences of a no-deal Brexit,” she added.
“Holidaymakers could face higher health costs and added red tape but the devil will be in the devil of the detail of the deal.
“We continue to call for the end of crippling quarantines and damaging travel restrictions.”
Mark Colley, managing director of Sunways Business Travel, said: “While the free movement around the EU for British citizens has changed, our businesses will quickly adapt, however, complications will arise for travellers when it comes to certain conditions; like the cap of 90 days spent in the EU per 180 days.
“An example of this is one client of ours who provide engineering support to manufacturing, often sending their operators in for long contract periods. In this scenario it is conceivable that they will exceed their 90-day quota.
“Therefore, UK nationals will need a visa for stays of longer than 90 days in the EU in a 180-day period, and the hope is that this process will not be marred in too much red tape, otherwise my client will not be able to confidently tender for contracts within the EU, which will put businesses like these at an extreme disadvantage.
“I am, however, confident that most business visits to the EU will only require an additional level of bureaucracy in the form of border checks and paperwork, which companies will quickly overcome.
“And at least we know that within the deal there is a disentangling of some of the rules regarding state aid, which will allow certain sectors to become more competitive. The EU will become a fertile ground for new business and in many sectors we will see increased activity into the EU.”
Global Travel Management managing director Scott Pawley said: “Now that businesses know that there is a deal, they can start to make plans, rapidly, to rebuild the economy.
“As travel opens up, companies will soon be able to re-start their business activities, at home, in Europe and, eventually, across the rest of the world.
“Business trips mean more sales for British companies and more revenues for the Treasury. But it’s not just sales trips. Engineers, scientists, retail buyers, medical staff, civil servants and many other professionals need to travel, to extend the reach and influence of UK plc and to earn revenues.”
He identified the benefits and disadvantages of the agreement:
Benefits
The deal paves the way for British businesses to decide when, where and how to compete on the global stage.
No-one yet knows what the long-term economic impact of this deal will be. But British businesses are now in a position to maximise every opportunity this deal throws up.
UK passengers travelling to EU countries will be able to take advantage of duty-free shopping from January 2021.
And the reassurance that consumer protection for air travellers will be as strong as before and aviation security standards will be maintained as rigorously as before
Disadvantages
- Must be able to show a return or onwards ticket at border controls
- Expect it to take longer to clear passport control within EU countries
- UK travellers will not require a visa for short trips (up to 90 days in any 180-day period) to most EU countries, – who tracks this, traveller or travel agency, we have the tools to do this.
- Passport must have at least 6 months validity
- Loss of the EHIC benefits (European Health Insurance Card) so always obtain travel insurance
- The guarantee of free mobile phone roaming throughout the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway will end.
Von der Leyen tweeted: “It was worth fighting for this deal. We now have a fair and balanced agreement with the UK. Europe is now moving on.”
Johnson said: “We have taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation.”
He added: “This deal, above all, means certainty, for the aviation industry, the hauliers…the police, the border forces, and all those that keep us safe.”
There will be a UK parliamentary vote on the deal on December 30.
If a deal had not been signed by the end of December, then taxes on goods could have come into force.