The Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC) has signalled a shift in lobbying strategy under new chief executive Paul Wait who has questioned the value of regularly complaining to government about Air Passenger Duty (APD).
Wait took over at the GTMC this month following 13 years at Virgin Atlantic and yesterday he queried what lobbying on APD up to now has achieved.
He said: “If it’s just a question of noise [on APD] we can make a noise with pipes and drums. But is it effective? We have to understand the challenges facing the Treasury.
“I think the government gets the message, but this is about how much ministers need to address the deficit.
“We have to put ourselves in the shoes of the government and find a way to get our arguments across that is revenue positive. The priority is to reinforce the point that business travel needs to be regarded as an investment, not a cost.”
The GTMC is a member of the Fair Tax on Flying coalition assembled by Abta which has lobbied hard on APD. A campaign last summer to email MPs calling for a review of APD attracted unprecented support.
But addressing GTMC members at their annual lunch in London yesterday, Wait said: “Our style will be one of collaboration not confrontation.
“Our ambition is to be seen as a consultant as far as business travel is concerned and to position business travel as key to the economy.”
Wait said he plans to meet Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer and that collaboration between the industry associations will continue “in some areas”.
But he said: “Abta takes a wider perspective of travel. We will have a different focus and in some areas we will have different opinions.”