Travel agent action group Target has postponed its planned protest at Parliament this week due to a new day of travel industry action planned for later this month.
Travel Agents Reform Group Engaged Together had rallied agents to travel to the capital for the Westminster protest on June 10, the day of a debate in the House of Commons which will see MPs discuss support for the aviation, travel and tourism industries.
But group founders say they had been asked not to go by the organisers of another action day on June 23 in order to present a united industry front to government.
Trade bodies including agency consortia and Abta have announced plans for the day to put pressure on the government to support a safe return to international travel in time for the peak summer period following last week’s announcement Portugal was being taken off the green list at four days’ notice.
The #traveldayofaction is being led by Abta, Airlines UK, the Airport Operators Association, BAR UK, UKinbound, the Business Travel Association, Advantage Travel Partnership, The Travel Network Group, and the other 11 members of the Save Future Travel Coalition.
Target founder Jill Waite said: “We arranged the event and notifying the relevant authorities, including Abta, as well as arranging banners and being told that we needed to arrange £5 million Public Liability Insurance.
“We have been contacted by Abta and some of the travel consortia who have said they will not be supporting the protest on Thursday and that they are arranging their own protest on June 23. They have insisted that we postpone the event, so as not to distract attention from their event.”
She added: “Although the event will not proceed on the planned date, at least we have been able to help stir the trade bodies into action and at last to organise a protest.”
Co-founder Graeme Brett, of Westoe Travel, said the group was “devastated” at having to cancel its plans.
He said: “No other protest had been arranged by the travel industry in the 15 months since last March. Yet within hours of this protest being announced we are told there is now to be another event to try to bring all sectors of travel and aviation together.
“We apologise to everyone who was planning to attend on June 10 and ask them to please change their travel arrangements to June 23.”