CONFERENCE The Travel Convention 2021: Abta hosted its annual forum as a hybrid virtual and


Tanzer revives demands for dedicated outbound minister


A


bta chief executive Mark Tanzer demanded the government appoint a dedicated minister


for outbound travel, saying the industry has been “treated as an orphan” for too long. In his opening address to the


convention, Tanzer said: “The last 18 months have tested the resilience of the travel industry. The industry was forced into a mini Ice Age. “It’s too early to speak of recovery.


I’m all too aware many of our members are perilously close to a cliff edge. But travel is no longer blunted by anxiety about quarantine.” He insisted: “Abta has been


strongly critical of the government through the pandemic for its failure to understand and support an industry that its own data shows to


The outbound


sector feels like an orphan dealing with multiple ministers and departments


have been the longest and hardest hit, and when it’s clear that international travel is on a much shallower recovery trajectory than other sectors. “We desperately needed to see the


restrictions and testing requirements eased and we’re glad the government has finally responded to our calls. “But the job is not yet done. We


still need to think how unvaccinated passengers can be freed to travel, how we can ease the red tape around entering the UK and how we can


harmonise vaccine certification across the world. “Our members are still starved of


cash. We urgently need the chancellor to extend support measures, which for some members will mean the difference between survival and failure.” Tanzer argued the outbound


sector “feels like an orphan dealing with multiple ministers and departments” and said: “This challenge has always dogged our industry and the pandemic has thrown the problem into sharp relief. “I repeat the call on government


to give one of its ministers dedicated responsibility for outbound travel.” He added: “International travel


can’t be managed by countries in isolation. The travel industry, public health bodies and governments must put in place cross-border protocols.”


‘Industry must show sustainability commitment’


The travel industry must make and communicate progress on sustainability to avoid “swingeing taxes that will make international travel once again a luxury for the rich only”. Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer


said: “Meeting the sustainability challenge head-on is not only a political necessity but also a commercial one. “In the UK the travel industry needs


to make and communicate progress in carbon reduction to prove we are truly committed to the government’s carbon reduction imperative.” Tanzer added: “It’s not just


Zina Bencheikh


customers who are demanding high sustainability standards, but employees too, and residents in destinations, and, increasingly, investors. All our most


important stakeholders, in fact.” Zina Bencheikh, Intrepid Group


managing director for the EMEA region, said reducing or offsetting carbon emissions “is no longer enough” and added: “The entire industry has to take global warming seriously. We have to make net zero by 2050 achievable. Without a healthy planet we don’t have a travel industry. “We need support [from govern-


ment] rather than for the industry to be penalised [by carbon taxes].” Richard Carret, nominated vice-


president of alliance development for Star Alliance, said achieving net zero by 2050 in the aviation sector was achievable, but depended on public and private sectors working together.


‘Rebuild with diver


The pandemic offers the industry an opportunity to become more diverse and inclusive as it looks to recruit young talent and cope with potential staff shortages, say business leaders. Brian Young, G Adventures


managing director for the EMEA region, said travel businesses had the chance to take a fresh look at how they operated to become more diverse. Speaking about G Adventures,


he said: “The pandemic is allowing us to properly reset our business. Unfortunately, we had to make some tough decisions and reduced our workforce [during the pandemic]. As we rebuild, this is the opportunity to


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21 OCTOBER 2021


travelweekly.co.uk


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