ALL ABOUT YOU — COMMENT
LUKE POLLARD former Abta head of public affairs
The phoney war is over. The build- up to the election has begun. It’s time the travel sector debated what policies it wants the next government to implement. The 2010 election produced a
profoundly unsatisfactory result for our industry. Within weeks, Heathrow’s third runway had been cancelled, VAT was hiked – making everything, including holidays, more expensive – and domestic tourism saw its entire tourism funding structure swept away in a bonfire of the quangos. Tourism took a beating. Our
value as job and wealth creators was undermined, and we learned a vital lesson. What happens in Westminster affects our industry, jobs and the bottom line. What the parties promise in their manifestos matters to our sector. The main parties have been
working on their documents for years. In the coming weeks, the major themes and headline policies will be published and spun. Is it too late to influence the manifestos? Possibly. But we should still be
making a strong case for what we believe in. Commitments made in the heat of an election campaign often prove most helpful. How much about our sector do
we want to appear in manifestos? In 2010, tourism barely got a mention and it seemed successive ministers didn’t get how holidays help the wider economy.
Give government leeway There is a strong argument that to achieve our goals – such as additional aviation capacity, action on APD and a decent outcome to holiday protection reform – we should allow the next government maximum leeway.
With Sir Howard Davies sitting on his runway recommendations, we won’t have the aviation debate we had at the last election – except in west London and Crawley. Giving whoever is in charge after the election the maximum room to deliver would be wise. The logic of an additional runway might be apparent to all those in travel, but not necessarily to the average voter – and there are dangers in wanting our issues to be everyone’s. Remember that not everything is in a manifesto. The VAT rise was not. So travel must box clever in winning politicians’ support for our views and fight a rearguard action against unsavoury policies. That
Whoever wins must know
that travel and tourism contributes billions to the economy – and isn’t an industry to be ignored
is what outfits such as Abta, the Airport Operators Association, the Tourism Alliance and A Fair Tax on Flying have been doing for years.
Let’s be smart The industry would be wise to keep any requests of government affordable, deliverable and easy to communicate. Few voters care about the Package Travel Directive or who runs the Atol scheme. Our issues won’t top housing, jobs or the NHS.
Let’s be smart. Let’s ensure
everyone in travel knows the issues, so any doorstep canvasser gets a relevant question. Let’s ensure everyone votes. And let’s hit the ground running, so whoever wins in May knows that travel and tourism contributes billions to the economy – and is not an industry to be ignored.
Luke Pollard is Labour candidate for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
32 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 29 January 2015
LUKE POLLARD
Travel must box clever in run-up to election
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112