Travlaw Big Tent Event 2021: Abta chief Mark Tanzer heads list of speakers at travel Continued from page 36 O’Leary noted: “We’re


somewhat in the lap of the gods. But the vaccine rollout is happening and more vaccines will be licensed. The narrative is going to move from lockdown and restrictions to vaccination programmes and lifting restrictions.” He pointed out: “Even


without a vaccine last year, there was a significant return to flying [in the summer].” The Ryanair chief reported


“a significant uptick in holiday bookings from the UK, Germany and Spain since Christmas”, although “off a very low base”, and he insisted: “It will snap back strongly once governments remove lockdown. Last summer, we saw an immediate snapback when the UK removed restrictions to the Canary Islands. “We’re keeping aircraft ready


to fly, training and recruiting hundreds of cabin crew. We’re ready to pounce as soon as there is any restart.” O’Leary suggested: “Airports


are being told by incumbent airlines that capacity will return. [But] a lot of capacity won’t return. Most airlines will struggle to get their capacity back. We expect competition between states and airports to participate in the recovery [and] the gap between us and our competitors will get wider.” He added: “We expect a


reasonably robust recovery in fares in summer 2021. Fares will recover strongly as vaccination is rolled out and people become more confident they can go on holiday in July, August and September, [and] we expect to grow aggressively in winter 2021-22 even off the back of lower fares.”


Tanzer: Opposing border closures would be futile


Ian Taylor


Arguing against the closure of borders at present is “futile” and the industry should instead be working with the government on a plan for restarting travel when it’s safe. That is according to Abta chief


executive Mark Tanzer, who insisted: “The government’s health policy is very clear. They want to get infection rates down and stop variant forms of the virus coming in.” Speaking at a Travlaw online Big Tent Event, Tanzer said: “A lot of the


public agree shutting the borders is the right thing to do. For us to argue against that would be futile but also not the right thing to do. “Working closely with the


government to put in place a reopening plan is what we need. This could be a combination of vaccination certificates, more rapid testing, perhaps more selective quarantine, and working with overseas destinations because they have to let us in.” Asked when travel might restart,


Tanzer said: “There is not enough evidence to say with confidence


when any market will reopen and when people will be able and confident to travel. “We’ve seen customers are sensitive


to changes in government policies. When the vaccines were announced, there was a surge in optimism. Lockdown has come back and has had a real impact not just on current travel but on people’s confidence to book.” He added: “The vaccination


programme is being rolled out, [but] it’s not really targeted at mass-market travel customers and, with the three- month delay [between jabs], if you don’t get the second jab until April you then wait three weeks [for immunity].” He argued: “It’s extraordinary that


the home secretary is saying ‘travel is illegal’. Add lockdown, quarantine hotels, the loss of travel corridors and the need for testing and we’re seeing an impact on consumer confidence. “The government must take a


Mark Tanzer


risk-based approach to this. “If they want zero risk there won’t


be any travel.”


Charles tips shift towards blanket travel quarantine


A leading industry commentator has slammed the government’s hotel quarantine plans as “wrong” and warned the list of ‘high-risk’ destinations will grow. Paul Charles, chief executive of


travel PR company The PC Agency, said: “The concern is the high-risk list will start expanding . . . and edge towards blanket quarantine.”


34 4 FEBRUARY 2021


Speaking at the Travlaw online


Big Tent Event, Charles said: “I’m worried we’ll end up like last summer when the government announced the travel corridors and then repeatedly changed them. Confidence is highly fragile.” The government announced


a ban on travel from 22 high-risk destinations on Wednesday of last week then added to the list on Thursday. Mandatory quarantine in hotels will be imposed on UK arrivals from these countries, perhaps as early as next week. Charles described hotel


quarantine as “wrong”, insisting:


Paul Charles


“We’re not like Australia and New Zealand. We are much more closely connected to our neighbours.” However, he insisted: “The


vaccination programme is rolling out according to plan. Infection rates will start to come down.”


travelweekly.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36