Abta chief Mark Tanzer hit out at the short-lived government of Liz Truss and called on ministers for a “settled framework in which to make decisions” when he addressed the association’s Travel Matters conference in London on Tuesday.
Tanzer argued: “The challenge from industry to this government is to put in place structures that underpin sustained investment.”
He insisted: “We do not need certainty. We’ve never had certainty. But we do need a clear and settled framework in which to make decisions – where to invest, when to invest, how to structure our finances, how to balance risk and return.”
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Tanzer suggested this is “what the travel industry needs from any government” and criticised “the former prime minister and her chancellor” for their “political opportunism” and “spooking” the markets with “unexplained and unbudgeted tax cuts”.
He warned: “It seems we’re entering a recession that may be prolonged . . . [when] the travel industry is still recovering from the dire years of the pandemic.
“International travel to and from the UK resumed only eight months ago, and although it is gratifying to see the return in demand, we’re still not out of the woods.”
Yet Tanzer told the conference: “Throughout the pandemic, the then-Chancellor [now prime minister, Rishi Sunak] made clear to me he was not willing to contemplate sector-specific support.
“We had to fight hard to make sure our members, with retail premises and without, were eligible for the support schemes in place.
“We continue to make the case that many travel businesses are in a weakened financial condition and we will continue to push for the extension of business rates support to non-retail travel businesses.”
Tanzer noted the shortage of skilled labour “continues to hamper the industry [given] the lack of available entry routes for overseas workers” and “British nationals are restricted in the nature and duration of the duties they can perform in Europe”.
He said he had written to immigration minister Robert Jenrick urging an extension of the youth mobility scheme to individual countries to ease the labour shortage.
Tanzer said: “We need to improve understanding across government of the strategic importance of international travel for the UK economy.”
He added: “I’m delighted the Future Travel Coalition of associations, set up during Covid, will continue to represent jointly the interests of our sector.”