The president of the SPAA has urged the industry to unite in its lobbying of governments for support to help it overcome the challenges the cost-of-living crisis is expected to present.
Mike Tibbert is calling for “synergy and consistency” from the various sectors that form the trade to secure adequate help from the Scottish and English governments, following the appointment of Anne-Marie Trevelyan as transport secretary.
Tibbert’s plea came after the cross-industry Future Travel Coalition, which he is part of, met last week to discuss plans for a winter resilience strategy, as part of a six-month scheme to support businesses amid soaring inflation.
“At this current moment we all have to work together as an industry,” he said, speaking to Travel Weekly at the SPAA’s inaugural Sparkle Awards in Edinburgh, aimed at recognising frontline agents.
“We know there will be moments when we all have different views or priorities, and we understand that, but working together as a coalition helps us to effectively lobby various government departments.”
Tibbert said the four nations that form the United Kingdom must also collaborate closely, calling for a “four nations approach” to simplify the decision-making process.
While travel enjoyed a largely buoyant rebound following the easing of Covid restrictions, Tibbert believes there is still some way to go before it is operating at pre-pandemic levels, which will only happen if the industry unites.
“There’s still a long way for the leisure market to go and currently demand is outstripping supply,” he said.
“We need to keep the pressure up to ensure airports, airlines and tour operators can fill that void and have the necessary resources, whether it’s frontline staff, baggage handlers or even pilots.”
He described the appointment of Trevelyan as transport secretary as a “clean slate”, after the departure of Grant Shapps, who “failed to grasp the issues facing the sector”.
“We hope she will focus on the wider picture of travel and not just on one entity, and that she looks at both the inbound and outbound aspects of travel as they are intrinsically linked; you can’t have one without the other,” he said.
“We’re hopeful the new minister will have a long hard look at travel and will try and give us as much assistance to help us get back on our feet. A meeting in person would be a good start.”