Aito members have been reassured by the Foreign Office on EU plans affecting travel to Europe from the UK but say they still have ‘significant’ concerns for travel next year.
The Specialist Travel Association (Aito) hosted a webinar for members on forthcoming border control changes in Europe following its concerns about the impact of the new EU Entry/Exist System (EES).
It was attended by more than 100 Aito operators and agents and joined by Louise Nicholls, diplomatic engagement lead with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
She clarified that while the target launch date for the new EU Entry/Exit System (EES) remained November 10, formal confirmation of the date was still awaited and subject to declarations of readiness from member states. This follows reports the launch could be delayed.
Aito said members were reassured during the webinar by the government’s lobbying of the EU for flexibility, and fully supported the call for member states to be allowed to relax members during peak times to avoid long delays at borders.
Aito’s head of industry affairs Christina Brazier said: “Common sense touches such as this freedom to relax measures at peak times give us much more confidence that our clients are unlikely to be adversely affected by the new EES rules – but, of course, it relies on those who are on border control duty at the time being well briefed.”
But members stressed many questions had yet to be answered and much of the detail still had to be clarified. They told the webinar they remained concerned about the potential initial impact the EES could have on travellers, particularly in peak winter months, for smaller ski resorts and the city break market.
They also raised significant concerns on the webinar about separate new rules due to come into effect in 2025. The new European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias) will require UK travellers to submit applications before they travel.
Aito said a considerable number of members were booking holidays for their customers for 2025 now and yet there was no confirmation of an implementation date for Etias and no current way to apply for it.
In response, the FCDO said it empathised with Aito members’ worries about the impact on UK holidaymakers and understood their current frustration.
However, Nicholls said current travel trade communication should focus on EES to avoid confusion among customers and to avoid fraudulent Etias websites. There have already been warnings of large numbers of unofficial Etias websites.
Brazier said: “We look forward to continuing Aito’s involvement in the government’s industry comms group; we will also continue to feedback members’ concerns to the FCDO and will keep Aito members updated on any developments.
“In addition, we will also actively encourage Aito members to make full use of the FCDO’s comms toolkit to help to raise awareness with their customers.”