ABTA says no-deal Brexit will have ‘very detrimental’ short-term impact on travel
ABTA is to run another campaign to reassure consumers about the impact of Brexit as it urges the Government to tackle ‘policy matters of critical importance’ that are still unresolved.
Giving an update on its Brexit activities, ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer said the campaign will give practical advice and reassurances about Brexit and direct consumers to a dedicated page on its website.
The page – abta.com/Brexit – has already had 120,000 views.
Tanzer said meanwhile ABTA continues to lobby Government, Brussels officials and other European governments, urging them to exhaust all avenues to avoid a no-deal exit.
He has written to the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, Shadow Ministers in the Labour Party and select MPs to highlight the increasing concerns of the UK travel industry about a no-deal exit.
"While I acknowledged that there has been progress in certain areas covering the immediate impacts of a no-deal, especially for aviation, there are policy matters of critical importance that have not been resolved including temporary employment rules for staff working within the EU and tax liabilities," he said.
"The purpose of the letter was to ensure awareness of the very detrimental short-term impact of leaving the EU without agreement on the arrangements that will succeed the status quo, and urge the Government and Parliamentarians to consider and exhaust all alternatives to avoid the no-deal scenario.
"There are more votes in Parliament this week, and we heard from the Prime Minister over the weekend that a meaningful vote will be held on 12 March – just over two weeks before we are due to leave the EU. This means extended uncertainty and it is important ABTA Members continue to plan for all eventualities; ABTA’s contingency planning guidance can help them do this. An updated version of the guidance will be published later this week."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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