Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer and UKinbound chief executive Joss Croft discuss the new joint report from the two organisations, which launches today
Today we’re launching a new joint report from Abta and UKinbound – International Travel: powering the UK economy.
The report evidences the economic value of international travel and offers a strong argument as to why the government needs to put in place policies to boost the UK travel industry, both in recovering from Covid-19 and laying the foundations for a prosperous and sustainable future.
As the report shows, with the right framework, international travel could outperform the wider UK economy in terms of growth over the next five years, with inbound travel forecast to grow 20%, and outbound travel 15%, compared to 2019 levels, which compares favourably with forecast growth of 10.3% in the wider UK economy over the same period.
It’s a report that we’ll use in the long-term, to underpin our engagement and our policy asks with government and political representatives across the four nations, including as we look ahead to the next General Election in 2024. But it is also very timely considering the current political and economic climate.
The government is desperately trying to bring stability to the UK economy, but delivering stronger growth over the medium and long-term remains a major focus of this new administration. As the report shows, a government with aspirations for growth needs a strong international travel industry.
Much of October’s mini-Budget has been reversed, including the VAT-free shopping for international visitors – a big loss for the inbound sector. The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, are currently working towards an Autumn Statement, to be delivered on 17 November, which will give a fuller account of the government’s tax and spending plans.
As with all fiscal statements – there is risk and opportunity for travel businesses. There is opportunity for the Chancellor to extend some of the existing support for businesses, such as business rates relief and help with energy bills; the big risk is a notable increase in Air Passenger Duty. APD is something both Abta and UKinbound are actively raising with government, arguing that this increase would be a setback to the industry’s recovery and sabotage growth, both for the industry and wider economy.
Together inbound and outbound travel generate £80bn in Gross Value Added (GVA) for the UK economy and support 1.5 million jobs. Every corner of the UK benefits from international travel. That means money coming into local economies, supporting local businesses and local jobs. As we saw over the pandemic, policies which work against travel have a detrimental impact on the industry and wider economy, with jobs lost, reduced GVA and less tax contributed to the Treasury.
The report also recognises the interdependencies between inbound and outbound travel. A thriving outbound industry helps support the inbound industry, and vice versa. We use the same physical infrastructure, such as ports and airports, and the two-way travel flows businesses in our sectors underpin the viability of vital air, sea, and rail links that are critical to the UK’s international connectivity. This is important not just for leisure travel, but also for fostering business relationships and forging new trading links around the globe.
We urge the industry to use the evidence the report provides and to contact your own local MPs to share the findings with them, as well as your own story, and we are making templates available to assist those who wish to do so.
The pandemic reminded us of the incredible value of travel, not only for mental wellbeing, but also in supporting people and communities at home and abroad. Abta and UKinbound have long worked together to take the message about the importance of travel to the heart of government. By publishing this report today, which includes constituency level data for the first time on the value of our sectors, we hope everyone who cares about the future our industry can get involved in speaking up for travel and the vital role we play in the UK economy.
More: International Travel: powering the UK economy. [External]