With more than 12,000 jobs already lost following the collapse of household names such as Flybe, Shearings, and Cruise and Maritime Voyages, along with redundancies at countless other firms, TTG is calling on the government to do more to help save this important industry from collapse.
The letter, which you can read below and is addressed to chancellor Rishi Sunak and transport secretary Grant Shapps, demands:
- Provide direct sector specific support for the UK travel industry and companies operating within it (such as SMEs like travel agents and tour operators, not just airlines), which might include an extension to the furlough scheme. Without this, the country will see thousands of company failures and hundreds of thousands of job losses;
- Consider a holiday on Air Passenger Duty until the end of August 2021, to help with pricing and encourage consumers to start booking holidays again. The hospitality sector has been aided by the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. The travel industry is urgently requesting similar support from government too;
- Commit to providing more advance notice of changes to destinations’ quarantine statuses. Giving the travel industry just six hours’ notice on Saturday night before the new Spain rules came into force caused huge confusion and anxiety for passengers, which the travel industry was left to sort out. Businesses cannot be run with such little planning and notice. Advance warning of destinations that may be “in the red zone” or are about to be switched off – and transparency on how decisions are being taken - is a necessity for the travel industry if businesses are to survive.
TTG news editor Jennifer Morris said: “We do appreciate that relations with some clients may be fraught at the moment due to the refunds crisis, but we’re asking you to think of those loyal customers who have stood by you throughout the years.
“Will they sign this letter to help protect you and the industry that works so hard to send them on their much-loved holidays each year?
“The campaign needs as much support as possible so we can speak with one voice and help #SaveTravel.”
Read and download our full letter to Shapps and Sunak below
Click here for the link to TTG’s #SaveTravel letter
