Independent agency Savvi Travel has pledged to support a campaign to help less developed countries to vaccinate people against Covid-19.
Dave Batley (pictured with his wife Kay), chief executive of the four-branch agency, was prompted to make his pledge after hearing about the Give A Vaccine initiative on Jeremy Vine’s Radio Two show last week.
He posted his pledge on his Twitter and Facebook channels: “We all live very privileged lives & travel on wonderful holidays. With that in mind Savvi Travel will be donating one #COVIDVaccination for every person on the booking to less privileged countries. We need the whole world to be cured of this horrible virus. #donateavaccinate.”
Batley told Travel Weekly: “It is about giving back – we have got to do this.
“We need to fly to other countries and so we need to do our bit.”
He said the agency will make a donation of £15 per person, taken from the commission it earns on each booking.
He said there is plenty of “pent-up demand” and enquiries but he is finding it is harder to secure bookings in the current climate – although one client aged 92 has booked a cruise for 2022.
Savvi Travel has branches in Oakham, Rutland; Olney, Buckinghamshire; Ampthill, Bedfordshire; and Hitchin in Hertfordshire.
Give A Vaccine has been established by semi-retired architect Stephen Lampard and his wife Janice, who live near Portsmouth.
Lampard highlighted how about 80% of the world’s vaccines for Covid have been bought already by wealthy nations, who have about 20% of the world’s population.
His initiative aims to build partnerships with organisations such as the Vaccine Alliance that can support his programme, and he has an initial target of £100,000 on his GoFundMe page.
The £15 figure is an estimate of the average cost of a vaccine.