The UK outbound travel industry could be worth £62 billion a year to the economy by 2030 with Government support, ABTA says.
In a report launched today, ABTA said there is opportunity to add £10bn to the economy – up from the current £52bn, an increase of 20%.
The report, ‘Outbound travel: a catalyst for jobs, growth and wellbeing’, has been published to coincide with Government’s Spending Review and ABTA’s Travel Matters conference in London.
ABTA said its findings should be ‘music to the Government’s ears’ given its focus on growing the economy to ‘meet its manifesto and public service ambitions’.
The report says regional airports are particularly reliant on outbound leisure passengers, including East Midlands, where 90% of traffic is leisure-based, followed by Manchester and Birmingham at 78%, and Bristol and Exeter at 75%.
However, ABTA said growth is reliant on the ‘right tax and policy framework’ and is urging the Government to harness the opportunities presented by the travel industry.
It said that there has been positive progress from the Government on critical areas, such as decisions around airport expansion, airspace modernisation, and policies to back the development of a domestic Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). ABTA says the recent UK-EU summit agreement also included important areas for travel, such as the commitment to explore a youth experience scheme.
Chief Executive Mark Tanzer said: “This Government has been clear that it wants to secure growth for the economy and towns and cities across the UK. With the Spending Review today, we’re urging the Government to capitalise on the growth potential presented by outbound travel.
“One of the things that we are highlighting is the opportunity for the UK to be a leader in sustainable travel, recognising that the industry needs to grow in a responsible way. This means accelerating progress towards decarbonisation; something that can’t be done without the support of Government.
“We’re also keen to remind Government that the travel industry is an important facilitator of growth in other sectors, whether that’s through business travel and exports carried in passenger planes for example.”
