Protestors from the travel industry gather outside Parliament for Travel Day of Action.
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Over 800 travel industry employees gathered outside Parliament yesterday as part of the Travel Day of Action. Protestors want the Government to capitalise on the vaccine rollout by safely reopening travel for the summer season.
While other sectors have received support, such as grant schemes, many travel businesses have been excluded. Meanwhile, airlines and airports have taken on billions of pounds of debt.
As a result, many businesses in the sector are struggling to survive.
Is protest the answer?
London, the world’s number one most connected city in 2019, saw an 88% decline in connectivity between April 2019 and April 2021.
Moreover, recent data from ABTA suggests that as many as 195,000 jobs have been lost or are at risk.
Thus, the summer season is a crucial period of the year. Protestors outside Parliament want to put pressure on the government to allow safe travel to those who have been vaccinated.
Without a meaningful summer season, many travel businesses may struggle to survive. Credit: Xavi Bird, City News.
Mathew Fisher, Director of Real Holidays, explained the difficulties his company was facing. He said: “a travel business, like ourselves, gets paid when the customer departs. So it doesn’t matter how many bookings you get unless they actually leave the UK and go on holiday, we don’t get paid.”
Although travel is no longer illegal, Mr Fisher believes recent Government indecision has led to slumping consumer confidence. Just last week, Portugal was taken off the green list.
Why the delay?
Leo Keay, speechwriter and policy lead for the Conservative Party, believes the delay to reopen travel is necessary. He says people have to remember “that the Government is doing this to save lives.”
London is behind the rest of the UK on their vaccine rollout
Only 60% of those in the capital have had their first dose of the vaccine, compared with 82% of people nationwide.
The Government will provide an update on the traffic light list within the next week. A review of the requirements for international travel is due on 28th June.
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HeadlineTravel industry calls on government to safely reopen travel for the summer
Short HeadlineTravel industry calls on government to reopen for summer
StandfirstTravel industry employees say that the government’s lack of financial support has made navigating the Covid crisis difficult.
Over 800 travel industry employees gathered outside Parliament yesterday as part of the Travel Day of Action. Protestors want the Government to capitalise on the vaccine rollout by safely reopening travel for the summer season.
While other sectors have received support, such as grant schemes, many travel businesses have been excluded. Meanwhile, airlines and airports have taken on billions of pounds of debt.
As a result, many businesses in the sector are struggling to survive.
Is protest the answer?
London, the world’s number one most connected city in 2019, saw an 88% decline in connectivity between April 2019 and April 2021.
Moreover, recent data from ABTA suggests that as many as 195,000 jobs have been lost or are at risk.
Thus, the summer season is a crucial period of the year. Protestors outside Parliament want to put pressure on the government to allow safe travel to those who have been vaccinated.
Without a meaningful summer season, many travel businesses may struggle to survive. Credit: Xavi Bird, City News.
Mathew Fisher, Director of Real Holidays, explained the difficulties his company was facing. He said: “a travel business, like ourselves, gets paid when the customer departs. So it doesn’t matter how many bookings you get unless they actually leave the UK and go on holiday, we don’t get paid.”
Although travel is no longer illegal, Mr Fisher believes recent Government indecision has led to slumping consumer confidence. Just last week, Portugal was taken off the green list.
Why the delay?
Leo Keay, speechwriter and policy lead for the Conservative Party, believes the delay to reopen travel is necessary. He says people have to remember “that the Government is doing this to save lives.”
London is behind the rest of the UK on their vaccine rollout
Only 60% of those in the capital have had their first dose of the vaccine, compared with 82% of people nationwide.
The Government will provide an update on the traffic light list within the next week. A review of the requirements for international travel is due on 28th June.
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