ABTA meets new Tourism Minister, discusses mobility needs and travel education

Monday, August 21, 2023

Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) Chief Executive Mark Tanzer and Director of Public Affairs Luke Petherbridge met with veteran Conservative MP John Whittingdale, on August 15, who has replaced Julia Lopez, who is on maternity leave, as the tourism portfolio holder at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS).

Whittingdale was informed by the delegation on the huge economic contribution that travel makes in terms of spending and jobs, as well as some of the numerous issues the sector is currently facing post-Brexit and post-pandemic.

“The outbound sector contributes £49 billion a year in economic activity and employs 843,000 people,” said Tanzer.

“The average traveller spends £670 in the UK before departure, and this spending helps to support communities and jobs right across the UK. While is clear from our discussion the minister already understands this point, we must never miss an opportunity to reiterate that message.”

Lack of ministerial continuity after Nigel Huddleston’s two-and-a-half year tenure from February 2020 to September 2022 has strained the relationship between travel and the DCMS. After a number of transient replacements, Lopez was chosen for the position in March 2023. In May, she went on maternity leave.

Tanzer emphasized that ABTA will continue to focus on finding answers in its political outreach and lobbying in the aftermath of the epidemic.

“We know how important it is to present government with solutions,” he said.

Whittingdale and Tanzer spoke about a number of hot topics, including the recent wildfires in southern Europe, particularly Rhodes. ABTA took this opportunity to promote the advantages of booking high-quality package travel and to lay out the industry’s position on the impending reforms of the Package Travel Regulations.

The topic of several of ABTA’s top policy concerns came up throughout the discussion, including posted workers and suggested reforms to post-secondary education for young people interested in pursuing jobs in travel and tourism.

“On both points, it is important DCMS, as our home government department, is up to date on our views and that they are able to represent these in their cross-government discussions,” said Tanzer. “Through our ongoing engagement with officials within the department, Abta will ensure this remains the case.

“It was good to be able to talk through our proposals around the extension of the youth mobility scheme, and also to share more on how we’re bringing industry together to work on the future of travel and tourism courses within further education.”

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