NEWS
Julia Lo Bue-Said at this week’s Advantage conference in Benidorm
Lo Bue-Said reiterates call to maintain lobbying efforts
Juliet Dennis
The industry should not let confidence in current sales and a return to normal trading slow down lobbying efforts for recognition of outbound travel in government, The Advantage Travel Partnership’s chief executive has warned. In a speech to delegates
at the consortium’s annual conference in Benidorm, Julia Lo Bue-Said admitted the “euphoria” of a positive trading environment and the industry’s resilience risked becoming its weakness when it came to garnering government recognition. The conference heard that
trading remained buoyant, with the recent extra bank holiday boosting members’ sales by 36%, but Lo Bue-Said reaffirmed the need to continue lobbying government for greater recognition and support. She said the goal set by the UK
travelweekly.co.uk
Outbound Travel Forum, a lobbying campaign first mooted in December 2021 to improve government engagement, remained critical to protect the sector from “being forgotten again” in a future crisis. She added: “The fact we are all
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feeling positive about trading could send a message to policy holders that the industry doesn’t need recognition and engagement. “The positivity and
confidence it creates is great, but we still need to engage with government. Just because trading is positive doesn’t mean
we don’t need engagement.” Lo Bue-Said revealed plans
for more meetings with industry stakeholders to secure funding for further government lobbying, while Advantage is giving its own members special toolkits to help them lobby their local MPs. The consortium has already joined forces with Aito, The
Specialist Travel Association, and appointed a public affairs firm to lobby on the forum’s behalf. Lo Bue-Said was confident a united industry could achieve the same level of government engagement as the hospitality industry under UKHospitality. “With the right will and funding
and people around the table there is the ability to do that. It needs commitment and collaboration,” she stressed. UKHospitality chief executive
Kate Nicholls told the conference it is vital trade bodies unite on key issues and work to “get the narrative right” as well as align themselves with the government’s own objectives. “How you articulate it to align with government priorities matters,” she said. However, some Advantage agents
questioned Abta’s absence from the outbound forum. But Abta’s public affairs director Luke Petherbridge
told Travel Weekly that the association was already the “umbrella voice for travel” and that there had been no let-up in its lobbying of government. He highlighted Abta’s role in
lobbying, as it prepared to host ministers at its Travel Matters event in Westminster next month. “It shows Abta’s influence that
we’re able to attract ministers from the main political parties and the role we have as the travel industry’s leading voice with government,” he said. “We are that umbrella voice for
travel – similar to UKHospitality for hospitality. We work very closely with them and other organisations across the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors. Last week we hosted many other bodies at Abta’s offices for the Tourism Alliance Board meeting.” He also hailed the Future Travel
Coalition – which includes Aito and Advantage – as an “important forum” for the UK travel industry.
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PICTURE: Nick Robb Photography
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