The UK’s top travel trade bodies have written a joint letter to new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, welcoming him to Number 10 and urging his Government not to forget the industry when it comes to tax, costs and red tape.
The Future Travel Coalition (FTC) – a heavyweight alliance covering everything from tour operators to business travel, cruise and inbound tourism – sent the letter to Andy and his freshly-appointed Cabinet this week.
Signatories include ABTA, AITO, the Business Travel Association, ANITA, ATAS, ATTA, CLIA, the ITT, LATA, SBiT, the SPAA, TTNG and UKinbound.
The letter led with the industry’s clout: tourism generates over £165 billion in GVA (gross value added), that’s 6.7% of the entire UK economy. It also supports more than three million jobs and hands the Treasury £36.6 billion in tax, it said.
But it warned taxes, soaring staff costs and increased tape are making life tough for businesses, and the letter warned they can’t keep absorbing these costs indefinitely without it hurting demand, investment and jobs.
At the same time, it said customers are struggling with the cost of living, made worse by rising taxes such as Air Passenger Duty, and local tourism taxes, which make the UK less competitive.
There was a nod of approval for the Government’s efforts to smooth over UK-EU relations, though the Coalition said it wants more progress on youth mobility and other operational headaches still holding the industry back.
With ministers due to publish a Tourism Growth Plan, the FTC said it’s eager to work with officials over the coming weeks.
The group welcomed the Government’s ambition to attract more than 50 million visitors a year to the UK by 2030 – and pointed out that travel and tourism businesses up and down the country will ‘play a critical role’ in delivering many of the proposals, including addressing skills and workforce challenges.
