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– is creating “a nightmare for business” and warned: “Don’t think, ‘When Trump goes, it will go back to how it was’. The world is becoming more protectionist. The trend began under President Biden. It will continue.” Professor Menon pointed


to the UK’s “very high debt repayments and very low growth” and said: “It’s a noxious combination and will get more so. The UK economy has been misfiring for 20 years. Since 2007 we’ve not seen real wages rise at all. That is staggering.” Yet the industry has had a


prosperous three years despite these challenges. Just as it was a good year for the trade, it was a good convention for agents – albeit a shame that more were not there. In a session featuring the


major tour operators, Tui UK and Ireland managing director Neil Swanson said: “The pandemic really helped retail. People wanted advice and that has continued.” Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy agreed, noting “how agents interact with customers can be key”. Both talked about how AI will


transform customer interaction, with Swanson describing the impact as “seismic” while insisting: “Retail remains important.” Heapy went further,


comparing AI to “the Wild West” and insisting: “It’s a long way away from replacing people. It’s incumbent on us to keep the customer in mind and not just replace people with AI.” It was telling therefore to


hear behavioural psychologist Nathalie Nahai tell the convention: “When you’re thinking of crafting messages [to consumers], AI could be the worst thing to do.”


Analysis: What has happened to Atol and PTR reform, asks Ian Taylor


Atol reform: CAA still keen but process ‘stuck in aspic’


Atol reform has been stalled since a Civil Aviation Authority ‘Request for further information’ on proposals issued in January 2023. That wrapped up in March


2023, with the CAA asserting “there remains a strong case” for reform. The Department for Transport (DfT) and CAA have been “considering the evidence from stakeholders” since. The CAA noted at the time: “This


work is complex and has taken longer than initially expected, and we’ll need more time to ensure we get it right.” But more than two years on,


there is still nothing. The process failed to move forward while the last government prepared for the 2024 general election, and the first 15 months of the current government saw no movement despite most of the CAA’s work having been completed. The CAA had launched its Atol


reform with a consultation in April 2021 and planned to have a revised regime in place by now despite the


PTR reform: Set to go ahead but ‘will be a damp squib’


Reform of the Package Travel Regulations (PTRs) is expected to go ahead despite a delay and changes to the ministers and government officials responsible, but with the Department for Business and Trade’s (DBT) original proposals watered down. The proposals, published in a


consultation in April, remain under 46 16 OCTOBER 2025


consultation and ‘Request for Further Information’ combined drawing almost 600 responses. The DfT and CAA issued a


joint statement confirming a delay in January 2024 when the then Conservative aviation minister promised an update later in the year. In March 2024, soon-to-depart


CAA head of Atol Michael Budge told the Abta Travel Finance Conference: “There is renewed energy at the DfT, renewed momentum. They want to get this [Atol reform] done.” By the time of the 2024 Travel


review as the DBT considers the responses. But the DBT dropped the most contentious proposals and appears likely to focus chiefly on boosting domestic tourism by exempting domestic packages with no travel element from the PTRs. The DBT official most associated


with the reform, Craig Belsham, moved to a different post earlier this year. His replacement Andrew Powell has also just moved on, and the minister and secretary of state responsible were changed last month. Peter Kyle replaced Jonathan Reynolds as business secretary and Kate Dearden, who only became an


Moved on: Mike Kane


Convention, Abta director of legal affairs Simon Bunce was describing businesses as “crying out for clarity on what is going to happen”. In December, then Labour


aviation minister Mike Kane appealed for the industry’s “patience” when he addressed Abta’s Travel Matters conference, saying: “My department and the CAA continue to explore the options [on Atol reform]. I know you’ve been waiting a long time. We’ll consider all the options and hope to provide an update next year.” However, Kane was replaced last


month by the government’s youngest minister, Keir Mather, an MP with no experience of the industry, while news that Budge is to depart the CAA next month and join Abta from December only adds to the sense that Atol reform is going nowhere. An industry source said: “The


CAA wants something to happen, but it’s out of its hands. Atol reform is stuck in aspic.”


Alan Bowen


MP last year, took over as minister for consumer protection. Alan Bowen, advisor to the


Association of Atol Companies, said: “PTRs reform will be a damp squib, when there were so many things we wanted changing.”


travelweekly.co.uk


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