Lobbyists have defended the travel and aviation sector’s approach to dealing with the government throughout Covid, and suggested the industry has been a “victim of its own success”.
Representatives from Airlines UK and Abta were asked at Travel Weekly’s recent Future of Travel conference in London if the travel and aviation sectors have lobbied as one voice.
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said: “The issue is that it’s a very disparate sector; inbound, outbound, aviation, domestic. So many component parts of the sector.”
But he argued: “Given that, we have managed to get a narrative and message that was aligned.
“We were always going to get a lot of cross messaging, and that’s fine because we represent different companies.”
Alderslade accepted “it took us a bit of time to realise we were here for the long-term” but said: “We are basically there now with common messaging”, urging: “Let’s focus on getting the sector up and running again.”
Speaking shortly before the Westminster update on changes to international travel restrictions, he said “the government has a huge amount of blame” for the situation travel is recovering from.
“The view in aviation, as a privately-run, privately-funded, very successful sector is speak to the DfT [but] nobody in government has that strategic vision about what aviation is here to do and what travel is here to do. That’s where we fall short.
“When we try to have a conversation with other parts of Whitehall, they don’t get it. It’s not like the bus or rail sectors, where they pump billions in every year. We are almost a victim of our own success.”
Graeme Buck, head of communications at Abta, agreed: “There are a lot more specific things we [different parts of the sector] want.”
He noted the creation of the Save Future Travel Coalition, which includes members from all parts of the sector and praised the impact of June’s Travel Day of Action in getting the message to MPs.
“The other thing is how much we do that doesn’t get seen behind the scenes,” he stressed, noting: “The day-to-day picking up the phone to advisors, the people who work at the heart of government, to keep them informed; in addition to those set piece campaigns.
“That isn’t always appreciated, but it has been an uphill struggle to get the message across to people.”
Buck also noted a “shift in momentum” helped by “recent coverage and media outrage about the PCR [testing] market”.
He encouraged the industry to continue to lobby for sector-specific support, even despite chancellor Rishi Sunak all but ruling out tailored financial assistance for any industry.
Buck said: “We are clear that the sector still needs financial support to see it through. It’s a viable sector but it will be challenging.
“It may be that [government] think we can trade through it. But that doesn’t mean we stop putting the pressure on.”