Abta does not support a call to remove domestic holiday products without a travel element from the Package Travel Regulations (PTRs).
The Tourism Alliance of industry bodies representing the UK outbound, inbound and domestic sectors is urging a revision of the PTRs to exclude non-travel domestic packages as one of eight proposals in a plan for Rebuilding Britain’s Tourism Industry published this month.
Abta is a member of the Tourism Alliance but does not support the call for this revision. An Abta spokesperson said: “We’re very much part of the Tourism Alliance. But some issues are more important than others and we sometimes differ.
“Our view is these domestic arrangements should stay part of the PTRs because of the risk to consumers. A combination of travel services does not need to include travel. It could be a hotel and theatre ticket.”
The spokesperson confirmed: “[The Department for Business] BEIS is aware of our view.” BEIS is poised to issue a formal consultation on reform of the PTRs following an informal consultation last year.
Tourism Alliance director Kurt Janson explained: “There are 65 members of the alliance and not everybody agrees with everything. The domestic sector is not interested in cutting APD. Outbound tour operators are not interested in relaxing the PTRs. Not every member signs up to every proposal.”
However, he insisted: “If the government wants to support tourism and get rid of red tape, this really is low-hanging fruit. There is no benefit to the consumer if a B&B wants to throw in a £20 voucher for drinks or a ticket to the theatre or an attraction.” Under the PTRs, he said: “The B&B owner becomes legally responsible for what happens at the pub or attraction, plus they need to have insolvency protection insurance.
“But a customer can take anything up with the pub or attraction. They don’t need to be repatriated. If they are injured or suffer a loss they can take it up in a domestic court.”
Janson said: “We’ve had ongoing discussions with BEIS. It has not been able to provide a single example of anyone benefiting from this [regulation]. But we estimate removing it would benefit domestic tourism by £9 billion a year.”