NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW 4


Advantage helps agents dispel Brexit myths


Benjamin Coren


benjamin.coren@ travelweekly.co.uk


The Advantage Travel Partnership has unveiled Brexit advice for members, including answers to common customer questions, as well as marketing resources.


The consortium is launching


a digital campaign called ‘Don’t let Brexit delay your exit!’ to help agent members build consumer onfidene for ostreit trael The advice has been drawn from


the Department for Transport’s EU Exit Campaign, and contains the government’s latest travel FAQs. It will be available, alongside


resources that Advantage agents can share with customers, on its members’ intranet. Chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said said: “We want to provide our members with up-to-date information at the press of a button. “There is so much information


out there and we wanted to create a centralised hub to take some of the pain away from members. We have lots of marketing materials for our members to use, but another part


of all of this is to dispel myths to customers through marketing.” The campaign coincides with


an Abta advertising campaign that seeks to reassure consumers they an oo holidays with onfidene whatever the outcome of Brexit. “The Abta campaign has been


out for a week or so now and reinforcing that knowledge is necessary,” said Lo Bue-Said. “By working closely with the government, we have access to


the right information. Knowledge is power and the main aim is to create a single source of the information that [members] need and [for members and consumers] not to be seduced by ‘what ifs’. “This does require businesses to


be practical. While you have access to this information, it’s also about how you use that to proactively encourage business and provide


onfidene to yor stomers › Business, back page


Advantage campaign: Don’t let Brexit delay your exit


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5 Customers urged to check passports Ben Ireland


The Travel Network Group conference, Budapest


Agents are rushing to warn customers travelling to Europe this summer that passports that were renewed early could be invalid in a no-deal Brexit.


he assort ffie sed to


grant up to nine months’ extra validity to passports renewed before their expiry date until late last year.


If the UK leaves without a deal


on April 12, Britons visiting the EU (except Ireland) must have six months’ validity on their passports, not including any extra months that were added. Passports can currently be used up until the expiry date, including up to nine extra months. In a Brexit seminar at The Travel


Network Group’s Beyond The Expected conference in Budapest, trael lawyer hys riffiths partner at Fox Williams, warned agent members: “Crucially, extra months may not count towards the six months that should be


6travelweekly.co.uk28 March 2019


“If you have 15 months left on your passport, you will be OK. Anything less, you need to check”


remaining on your passport for travel in the EU. The quick way to check is if you have 15 months left on your passport on the day of arrival, you will be OK. Anything less, you need to check.” he ome ffie estimates  to 3.5 million passports could be


invalid for EU travel in a no-deal. Premier Travel director


Paul Waters said he had been asking staff to warn customers. He said: “It’s not our responsibility but customers ask the question and I see it as part of our role as an agent to be there to guide them through any bumps in the road.” Mark Brewer, director of Imp


Travel in Lincoln, has also been warning customers. He said: “It’s time-consuming but we’ve got to do it. If we don’t and something goes


wrong, we’ll end up with the blame.” › Conference report, page 12


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