ABTA has welcomed a series of measures in the 2020 UK budget to support the travel and tourism sector in light of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Yesterday (1o March) ABTA urged the Government to consider “extraordinary” support, stating that “travel businesses are under increasing pressure”, and calling for the government to “act now in taking steps to protect them”.

In today’s budget, chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a temporary coronavirus business interruption loan scheme for banks to offer loans of up to £1.2m to support small and medium-sized businesses.

In addition, businesses with fewer than 250 employees can reclaim the cost of providing statutory sick pay to employees off work due to coronavirus. The Bank of England has also cut interest rates to 0.25 per cent.

ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “The new chancellor has acted quickly and decisively with certain measures that will support smaller businesses in particular.

“Travel businesses are under increasing pressure and steps such as the business interruption loan scheme, the emergency cut to interest rates and support for small businesses with sickness payments for staff, will provide some welcome relief and a degree of protection for at least some members in the weeks to come.”

Tanzer added that ABTA will “continue to monitor the situation”, stating: “The measures of the chancellor and the Bank of England, which are designed to increase access to short term credit, need to be turned into reality, and the government must work with lenders to ensure the measures are effective on the ground.

“We shall continue to monitor the situation as it evolves and liaise with the government on behalf of our members regarding any additional support measures.”

ABTA has been running a proactive paid for Facebook campaign to target people looking to travel with its latest advice. This has so far resulted in more than 850,000 impressions and will continue to engage with travellers over the coming weeks.