The boss of Barrhead Travel has written to the UK Treasury and Scotland’s finance secretary to implore further support for travel businesses impacted by Omicron.
The UK government announced a £1 billion business support package for the hospitality and leisure industries today, but travel was not included – and Abta says an additional £102 million boost to the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) fund, to be dished out by local councils, does not go far enough to support travel businesses.
Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, last week announced a new £100m fund for businesses impacted by measures implemented to combat the spread of Omicron.
But despite confirming £3 million would be allocated to the “worst-affected tourism businesses” Sturgeon suggested it is unlikely travel agencies or outbound travel businesses would receive support as she noted “mainly those in hospitality and food supply, and in the culture sector” would.
More: Airlines demand removal of travel restrictions or ‘urgent support’
Abta requests urgent meeting with government after latest blow to travel
Barrhead Travel president Jacqueline Dobson argued that outbound travel is once again being forgotten about amid the creation of new Covid policies.
“Travel agencies were previously excluded from claiming the same level of support as hospitality businesses – despite remaining under crippling restrictions while our peers in other sectors could at least begin their recovery,” she said.
“Hospitality businesses in Scotland have, quite rightly, been thrown a lifeline – they face incredible challenges in the face of mass cancellations this Christmas. The problem here is that the travel industry has been facing the same uncertainty and growing levels of postponements or cancellations for the past four weeks without any form of government intervention.
“It is beyond belief that, despite the urgent pleas made to Scottish ministers and MSPs, that an entire sector which faces extraordinary pressures because of Government restrictions and ambiguous advice is once again being ignored. There is still a real lack of understanding about how the travel industry generates cash and it is disappointing that, even after almost two years of discussions, we have few government officials who really understand the harsh realities.
“We have written to the cabinet secretary for finance and economy seeking a response to the issue regarding funding and we would welcome immediate discussions in the hope that further funding can be allocated.
“We’re also supporting industry calls to the UK government to bring forward an immediate package of support.”
Dobson said there was still an appetite for travel but that the constantly changing guidance was confusing customers.
“We know people still want to travel, but we’re seeing increasing calls from customers who are either baffled by the constant changes or worried that they should postpone their plans,” she explained. “Conflicting advice or statements from devolved nations do not help.
“The Christmas period should have been an opportunity for the industry to service the pent-up demand for winter breaks. Of course, we’ve had the challenge of Omicron which has naturally slowed imminent departures. But the UK government should have taken action to mitigate the repercussions on the industry, including implementing financial support and taking steps to reduce testing costs.
“It is exhausting for travel businesses to continually have to raise these points to government – particularly while they are trading under such challenging circumstances. I welcome any opportunity from the Scottish and UK governments to discuss realistic measures to support travel in the months ahead.”