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New figures from ABTA suggest nine in ten holidays were either cancelled or rearranged in July and August, as the Covid-19 pandemic caused havoc in the travel sector.
The new findings are from a survey of members carried out at the end of October before the latest lockdown measures were announced.
They also reveal that a third of businesses have not yet resumed active operations since the UK-wide national lockdown – demonstrating the constraints on the sector.
The lack of an opportunity to recover means that in the current trading conditions businesses expect to end the year 93 per cent down on bookings compared to this time last year.
Even before the latest lockdown, redundancies are estimated to have almost doubled over a three-month period – with 164,000 people either losing their jobs or having their jobs at risk in the travel and wider industries, up from 90,000 in August.

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In response, ABTA has renewed its calls to government to deliver a plan which provides tailored support for the industry and put measures in place to ensure a swift return to travel and boost consumer confidence after the lockdown has lifted.
It acknowledges that while positive developments this week, in terms of securing a vaccine, will go some way to restoring consumer confidence in booking future travel plans, travel businesses need help now.
It highlights that while other sectors – like hospitality, culture and the arts – have received specific support from the Government, travel businesses have been left wanting.
Mark Tanzer, chief executive of ABTA, said: “The travel industry has had no meaningful chance to recover – bookings have largely vanished, cancellations are common as destinations move on and off the travel corridor list and the government is yet to deliver a testing framework for industry and customers.
“The results are stark for businesses – job losses mounting at an alarming rate and viable, longstanding businesses closing their doors for good.”
He added: “But there is demand for travel and we are starting to see people booking for summer 2021 – demonstrating the importance of travel and resilience of the market.
“This will no doubt be boosted by the news of a vaccine, but we must remember that a robust vaccine programme is many months away and the industry is struggling now.
“It is short-sighted of the government to overlook the industry as travel is fundamental to our economic recovery.”
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TUI has confirmed there will be no trips to see Santa this year.
The UK & Ireland subsidiary revealed earlier it had taken the “incredibly difficult” decision to suspend holidays to Lapland this winter.
The move is due to the continued uncertainty surrounding travel and the unprecedented impact of Covid-19.
Visiting Santa is a truly magical, once-in-a-lifetime family experience and TUI said it had worked extremely hard in recent months to try to ensure it can keep the magic alive and guarantee children and their parents a safe and enjoyable holiday.
However, with the rapidly evolving travel environment and a Covid-19 test soon to be mandatory for Finland, TUI has decided that on this occasion, it would not be able to deliver on this promise and wanted to remove uncertainty for families.

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The health, safety and enjoyment of customers and colleagues continues to be the number one priority.
All customers impacted by this decision are currently in the process of being contacted to discuss their options, which include the opportunity to amend for next year, receive a refund credit note with an incentive or choose to request a full refund.
“TUI would like to apologise sincerely for any inconvenience and disappointment caused and thanks customers for their understanding,” added a statement/
The TUI holiday experience to Lapland is expected to return in winter 2021.
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Abercrombie & Kent has appointed Martin Froggatt to the role of executive vice president, destination management and as a member of the global management board.
He will take up the role on Monday, November 9th.
The job encompasses global leadership across Abercrombie & Kent’s destination management companies; of over 55 offices in more than 30 countries, and its luxury riverboat and lodges brand, Sanctuary Retreats.
Froggatt joins the business with over 25 years’ experience in the travel industry with leading brands such as Walt Disney Attractions, TUI and Travelopia in both the UK and the USA.
While at Travelopia, he managed the education, events and expeditions portfolios delivering record customer satisfaction scores, revenue growth and profitability.

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Under his leadership, the expeditions portfolio that included Quark Expeditions and TCS World Travel became market leaders through an unwavering focus on delivering the best customer experience.
He was also instrumental in the delivery of several mergers and acquisitions, including the sale of Travelopia into private equity.
Michael Wale, chief executive, Abercrombie & Kent, commented: “During these incredibly challenging times for the industry, I’m delighted to have Martin join us.
“As a renowned travel industry executive with a strong people focus, it’s great to have him on our global leadership team who continue to innovate exceptional travel experiences for our clients.”
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A new report from the Advantage Travel Partnership has found that 61 per cent of travel agents will run out of cash by the end of this year.
The travel agent consortium released the findings as the UK enters a second lockdown, which effectively prohibits overseas and domestic travel.
The results show the stark reality of how desperate the situation is for travel agents’ businesses and the bleak outlook for the broader travel industry.
If blanket travel bans, quarantine measures and lack of testing continues, a further 27 per cent will run out of cash in the first half of next year, resulting in 88 per cent of agents running out of cash before June.
This means – in a rather hypothetical situation that there will only be 12 per cent of travel agents still in business next summer.

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Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive at the Advantage Travel Partnership said: “When will the government wake up and see that an industry is collapsing in front of them?
“These results are deeply concerning, but sadly are indicative of many businesses throughout the travel industry.
“We need an exit strategy from our government to outline how we are going to move forwards.
“Hospitality and retail had to ensure they were Covid-19 secure when they reopened in the summer, and travel needs its own equivalent – we must have a robust testing system in place and quarantine periods reduced to give us any chance of surviving this crisis.”
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TUI UK has launched winter 2021 and 2022 holidays as the company seeks to boost sales in the wake of the Covid-19 shutdown in travel.
The travel giant is also planning to put summer 2022 holidays on sale from November 5th.
The decision comes as 86 per cent of customers surveyed in September said they expect to have gone on holiday again by next summer – demonstrating the growing appetite for travel post Covid-19.
With on-going travel corridor uncertainty for some firm favourites this winter, those craving sunshine during the coldest months have already booked for next winter, with strong demand in particular for Cancun, Jamaica and Tenerife from the range of 52 destinations on sale.
TUI will be offering a total of 62 destinations for the summer 2022 programme from 16 UK airports.

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The company welcomes back Teesside Airport for summer 2022 for the first time since 2013 with the launch of a weekly flight to Palma on Tuesdays.
This flight will also give people living in the Teesside area access to four Marella Cruises sailing itineraries, including Coastal Gems, Treasures of the Mediterranean, Magic of Spain and Mediterranean Medley, all on Marella Discovery and on sale from December 2020.
TUI also expects Florida to continue to prove popular as many families moved their magical trip from this year to 2021, with 40 per cent of holidays to this destination already sold.
Families typically book their Florida holiday far ahead, so placing summer 2022 on sale now will help customers plan their truly memorable family holiday.
Richard Sofer, commercial and business development director at TUI, said: “Our latest customer survey and booking patterns for next summer indicate that the great British public are looking forward to future holidays even more so as they may have been unable to take one this year.
“This is why we have launched our future holiday programmes through to the end of October 2022, so that families and couples alike can plan ahead to next year and beyond to make informed choices about what will make their perfect holiday from the wide range we have on offer.”
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