NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW
As polls show the Leave campaign edging ahead, a panel of experts discuss the EU referendum at a Travel Weekly Business Breakfast. Juliet Dennis reports
INOR OUT?
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Panellists, from left: Tim Montgomerie, Nigel Huddleston, Graham Pickett and Deirdre Wells
Pickett: Travel firms lack Brexit contingency plans
Businesses are not prepared for Brexit, according to Graham Pickett, Deloitte’s lead partner for travel.
Pickett told a Travel Weekly Business Breakfast audience that companies should have contingency plans in place in case there is a vote to leave Europe. “Tui believes it is prepared, but a lot of businesses are not,” he said. “If corporates have not organised their foreign exchange planning, that’s an issue. The second factor
5 Wells: ‘Remain’ fails to make its case
UKinbound chief executive Deirdre Wells has accused the government of failing to set out the benefits of staying in the EU to the general public.
Wells, who backs the Remain campaign, said: “I am not sure people are aware of the benefits of being part of the EU. Our members can trade easily with partners. “The government has failed to set this out; this is not a
“The benefits of being in the EU is huge to our industry. The business decision is clear”
straightforward in/out debate.” She added: “If you are in the
EU, you have some influence. The benefits of being able to work
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travelweekly.co.uk 16 June 2016
in the EU, have access to health insurance, the free flow of visitors, is huge to our industry. The business decision is clear.” In a recent survey, 82% of UKinbound’s 360 members wanted to stay in the EU. “It’s a really strong mandate from our members but not surprising given two-thirds of our visitors come from the EU and spend £100 billion here,” said Wells.
“Tourism is a fantastic employer;
30% of our businesses’ employees come from the EU. There is genuine concern on how they will survive if there is a Brexit.” Nigel Huddleston, MP for
MidWorcestershire, said: “In my constituency there are businesses entirely reliant on overseas labour. If we leave the EU these businesses
will go under.” › Talk Back, page 23
is if they are not communicating [the impact of Brexit] with employees who work overseas. “Any sensible business should be doing sensitivity analysis around what will happen [but] from what I am hearing, for a lot of corporates, it’s business as usual.” Pickett said businesses had been surprisingly quiet on the issue of Europe. He added: “Our economy is on a knife-edge. We have just been through a recession; we are pretty brittle to impact shocks. If
there is a vote to come out there will be a shock and that will impact UK plc.” Nigel Huddleston, MP for Mid
Worcestershire, said companies could regret “sitting on the fence”. The former Google head of travel added: “It’s irresponsible. We could have people voting themselves out of a job and not realising it.” But political activist and Times columnist Tim Montgomerie suggested there would be plenty of time for companies to adjust.
5 STORIES HOT PANEL QUOTES
“The business decision is clear. The EU may not be perfect but it’s better than [Brexit].” Deirdre Wells, UKinbound
“It’s much better to be in the club and provide leadership rather than walking away.” Graham Pickett, Deloitte
“Let’s not be part of a little, declining Europe.” Tim Montgomerie, The Times
“There is a compelling argument to stay in” Nigel Huddleston MP
“It will be at least two years
before we leave the EU,” he said. “Businesses will have time to
prepare for this. “It will be like a divorce: I get the dog, you get the house. Then calmness will come through.” He conceded: “There will be
some loss of access to the single market, but I think there will be an upside. We can get rid of a lot of
[business] red tape.” › Nigel Huddleston: Face to Face, page 12
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