ABTA has today (7 April) launched a new online campaign, Save Future Travel, and is inviting its members, along with the wider travel and tourism community, to take part.

The campaign calls for industry-wide action to make it clear to the UK government “the devastating impact” of the coronavirus pandemic on the travel industry and to provide the government with “workable solutions” to deal with the crisis.

ABTA has been calling for urgent Government intervention to support the travel industry and take action around refunds and other measures for several weeks, but so far is waiting for a response.

The measures include:

1. Temporary changes to the Package Travel Regulations. ABTA asks the Government to implement temporary amendments to the Package Travel Regulations to protect both businesses and consumers. Strengthening the regulatory basis and extending the window for refund credit notes, as a short-term alternative to cash refunds, will provide businesses with vital breathing space, whilst ensuring all consumer protections are carried forward.
2. Financial liquidity and employment support. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – which only applies to furloughed workers – to be amended to ensure that the Government-backed loans for both SMEs and larger companies are accessible in practice and uniform in approach.
3. Appropriate responses by credit card and other financial payments companies. The Government needs to work closely with regulators and trade bodies across the financial sector to ensure a proportionate response is being adopted by other actors in the financial protection environment. In particular, ABTA asks that officials examine the operations of Merchant Acquirers, and banks and credit card companies.

Many European countries, including France, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Germany, The Netherlands and Denmark, have proposed temporary changes to existing regulations that are not fit for purpose in this current climate.

ABTA is now asking its Membership, the wider travel and tourism industry, all travel agents and tour operators, their families, and anyone who supports the industry, to join the appeal through its latest campaign.

To take part, individuals must sign up to the website www.savefuturetravel.co.uk and email their local MP to highlight industry asks. ABTA is also encouraging supporters to use social media to contact their local MPs and Government ministers using #savefuturetravel.

By applying pressure at a “grassroots level” and petitioning local MPs, ABTA spokesperson Victoria Bacon believes this will be the most effective way to instigate change.

ABTA chief executive, Mark Tanzer, says: “ABTA has been doing all it can on behalf of the industry to make it clear to Government the devastating impact this crisis is having and to provide workable solutions to help them to do what it takes to support us.

“We now need additional help from colleagues, friends and supporters to make our industry voice as loud as possible. The time has come for the industry and anyone who loves to travel to get behind our campaign to ‘Save Future Travel’.

“The Chancellor promised UK businesses that he would do “whatever it takes” to help the country get through this pandemic, and we need the Government to act.

“This crisis has created extraordinary difficulties for everyone, in ways that none of us could ever have predicted.

“Many sectors have been hit hard but few have been hit as hard as travel. The changes that we have asked for are reasonable, as has been shown by other governments taking similar action.

The UK travel industry employs more than 500,000 people directly and indirectly across the country.

“Without the support from the Government, the reality is that businesses will go under, hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk, and the taxpayer would be liable for billions of pounds of refunds that the ATOL scheme won’t be able to cover,” said ABTA.

How to participate in Save Future Travel

To take part in the campaign and show your support, individuals need to:
1. Visit www.savefuturetravel.co.uk and send an electronic letter to MPs in support of the travel industry
2. Show support on social media with the following example posts:

Facebook:
I support @ABTAlovetravel’s call to @UKgovernment to do whatever it takes to protect travel industry jobs and customer money. I have emailed my local MP to help #SaveFutureTravel. Find out more at: www.savefuturetravel.co.uk #OneTravelIndustry

Twitter:
I support @ABTAtravel’s call to @GOVUK to do whatever it takes to protect travel industry jobs and customer money. I have emailed my local MP to help #SaveFutureTravel. Find out more at: www.savefuturetravel.co.uk #OneTravelIndustry