Organisations & Operators,

A coalition of travel industry organisations has written to the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, Oliver Dowden, to express disappointment at the tourism recovery plan.
The document was released last month and details how authorities intend to get the second back on its feet after the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a letter signed by 16 senior representatives from across the industry, the Save Future Travel Coalition expressed disappointment with the lack of tangible policies in plan.
They also showed concern with a statement in the plan that the government wants to “embrace” the current restrictions on overseas travel as an “opportunity” by “boosting domestic demand”. ADVERTISEMENTThe coalition emphasised that the outbound tourism sector is worth more than £37 billion and supports more than half a million jobs in ordinary times across the UK.
One of the coalition partners, ABTA public affairs manager, Emma Wade, said: “The tourism recovery plan lacks many policies the industry is so desperate to see.
“We urge the secretary of state and his colleagues to engage with businesses and organisations across the travel and tourism industry to rectify that oversight, and to ensure that the plan continues to evolve in the coming weeks and months.”
Highlighting the importance that retaining the strategic international connectivity will play in the overall economic recovery of the UK from Covid-19, the coalition reiterated its proposed key actions to support the industry, including:

To establish without delay the proposed inter-ministerial group for tourism, and broaden its remit, so that it can act as a conduit to ensure the views of the travel industry are heard by ministers across government.
To set up permanent structures to ensure a coordinated approach to travel and tourism between the four nations of the UK.
That the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport make representations to the treasury for travel and tourism businesses to be a priority case for funding and that financial support is not removed while constraints on trade imposed by the government remain in place.
To include overseas visitors who have been fully vaccinated in the changes to quarantine rules.
To make the case for borders to be resourced fully to ensure that increased volumes of passengers can be handled without significant disruption.
To make coronavirus tests in travel more affordable and more proportionate in their use.

The Save Future Travel Coalition is made up of 16 leading travel bodies and campaign organisations which together represent the vast majority of outbound and inbound organised travel to the UK.
They include ABTA, AITO, Advantage Travel Partnership, UKinbound, Pacific Asia Travel Association and the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association.
A government plan for the hospitality sector received a warmer response earlier.

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TUI is moving to permanent flexible working in the UK following 16 months of home working due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The majority of office-based employees in the UK have worked from home since the start of the pandemic in March last year.
During this time, the company sought to embrace the shift realising that almost all office-based roles could be done remotely. 
TUI conducted colleague research to understand their views on ways of working, with many citing they have adjusted their working practices and have discovered benefits, including a better work life balance, that they would like to continue with once the pandemic is over.
As part of the new ways of working, TUI employees will only be required to attend the office once a month to attend face to face team meetings or collaboration events, enabling individuals to make their own choice about how often they would like to work in an office environment.ADVERTISEMENTWhile offices will remain open individuals will be able to decide what working environment works for them.
Recognising the importance of transitioning to a permanent flexible working approach, the organisation has created a new workspace director.
This role will be responsible for workspace portfolio across the UK and Ireland and will have the accountability to define and implement a workspace strategy.
Belinda Vazquez, workspace director of TUI UK & I, said: “At TUI we embrace the concept that work is something we do, not somewhere we go.
“We have listened to our employees in order to define a clear framework that ensures ultimate flexibility, whilst creating positive experiences that enable all colleagues to feel like they belong and are valued.”

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Kayak has become the official shirt sleeve sponsor of Newcastle United ahead of the 2021/22 Premier League season.
First team players will wear Kayak branding on the shirt sleeve of all home, away and third kits for the forthcoming season. ADVERTISEMENTThe strategic partnership marks the first ever football sponsorship for the travel search engine.
Founded in 2004, Kayak pioneered the system of allowing customers to compare prices across multiple providers in one location – known as meta search.
Commenting on the partnership, Per Christiansen, Kayak vice president, EMEA, marketing, said:  “As we continue to grow our brand partnerships in the UK and internationally,  we are thrilled to kick off our first football partnership with Newcastle United.
“It is an honour to be associated with the team and we look forward to expanding our presence amongst the players and their global fanbase as they enjoy the freedom of travel and live sport once again.”

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Overlanding specialist Dragoman has revealed plans to go “dormant” for the foreseeable future in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company said it was going to “sit tight” until the resumption of long-haul travel is again feasible.
All future bookings for those who have yet to travel are being refunded in full, the 27 Dragoman trucks – parked up all over the world – continue to stay off-road, and the (much longer than originally foreseen) wait for normal long-haul travel to resume continues, the company said in a statement.
Charlie Hopkinson, a director of Dragoman, explained: “This has been a very tough decision to take. 
“We thought back in 2020 that a chink of light meant we’d soon be overlanding again, albeit perhaps to countries closer to home than the norm.  ADVERTISEMENT“But we are now 16 months into the pandemic, and long-haul travel in the way that Dragoman has operated for the past 40 years is, sadly, unlikely to be possible in the short- to medium-term.
“We have got to batten down the hatches and to sit it out as best we can, much as we hate the idea of doing so.”
He added: “This means refunding our loyal customers who have yet to travel and agents worldwide, suspending our operations and closing down our HQ. 
“No new bookings will be taken until we see light at the end of the tunnel and feel confident that we can re-start our operations.”
This year saw Dragoman’s 40th anniversary of overlanding worldwide.
The company has taken 77,000 passionate travellers to myriad destinations worldwide during those 40 years – across Asia, trans Africa and trans North and South America. 
“We are desperately sad to have to bid au revoir to everyone for now – our loyal in-house road crew and expedition leaders, engineers, reservations team and admin staff, all of whom have worked hard to keep things ticking over; our sales agents worldwide and in the UK; the many associated businesses with whom we’ve been linked, some for the full 40 years,” said Hopkinson.
“To those who have bookings with us, we would appreciate your patience until we contact you, please; we have only a small skeleton team working at present, and we will contact everyone in strict date order. 
“It will take time, but you will hear from us just as soon as possible. 
“Please do not try to reclaim your funds via your credit card company – this will take a great deal of time and effort on your part, and it also means that we will be unable to refund you ourselves; thank you.”
Hopkinson concluded: “This is not the end. 
“The decision to pause is to ensure that Dragoman can – and will – live on in the future.”

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It is time to lift remaining restrictions on the hospitality industry and give visitors to Wales simple and clear messages about staying safe.
That is the view of UKHospitality Cymru (UKHC) ahead of a Welsh government today.
UKHC executive director, David Chapman, commented: “The Welsh government review is a chance to lift remaining restrictions and help businesses in Wales to manage the huge influx of summer visitors.
“Let’s keep it simple: open up, stay savvy, stay safe.”ADVERTISEMENTHe added: “On July 19th we’re expecting England to fully open up and from that moment we need to make sure visitors to Wales are welcomed with a set of simple directions about how to stay safe and enjoy their holiday while they are here.
“Welsh government ministers are suggesting we have to now learn to live with the virus; it’s time to make it simple and easy for those looking to take their first restriction-free break in eighteen months.
“We don’t want hospitality workers to be at the receiving end of visitor confusion, disappointment or annoyance about what can or can’t be done; let’s make it as straightforward as possible. 
“Open up now, stay savvy and stay safe.
“They should be the watchwords of the new normal of living with Covid-19 in Wales in a post-vaccine environment.”

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On the Beach Group has raised £26 million through the sale of new shares in the company.
The travel agent sold a total of 7,870,000 placing shares at a price of 330 pence each.
The figure represents around five per cent of the existing issued capital.
The price represents a discount of approximately five per cent to the closing share price of 348 pence per share yesterday.
Numis Securities and Peel Hunt acted as joint bookrunners for the placing.

On the Beach last month reported losses of £22 million for the first half of the year, as the company prepares to relaunch operations in September following the Covid-19 pandemic.

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UKHospitality has called for the government to “immediately review and amend” its test and trace guidelines on self-isolation.
The body argues the current rules are proving “massively disruptive” for hospitality businesses across the UK and leading to venue closures and reduced operating hours.
The current system forces already struggling hospitality businesses to shut their doors, and can result in whole teams needing to self-isolate.
The trade body also warned of the damage that any similar approach would wreak on wider society, triggering mass isolations.
Kate Nicholls, UKHospitality chief executive, said: “For some weeks we have been telling government about the severe staff shortages at venues, compounded massively by the absence of staff members who have been told to isolate despite not having shared shifts with colleagues who tested positive.ADVERTISEMENT“We need urgent clarification of isolation policy to reflect the enormous success of the vaccine roll out and we urge the Cabinet Office to amend the current isolation policy as soon as possible, and certainly ahead of the July 19th, to address the challenges of the current system.
“A sensible and pragmatic approach would be to extend the ‘test to remain’ system for vaccinated staff to hospitality.
“That would avoid businesses being forced to close, losing thousands of pounds of revenue at a time when cash reserves are low or non-existent following 16 months of closure and punitive trading restrictions.”
She added: “If the system remains as it is, there’s a threat of mass isolations, which would hugely damage trade, putting many companies at risk of failure.
“Hospitality is eager to trade its way back to prosperity, so ideally the government should act to ensure that vast swathes of the population are not unnecessarily confined to their homes due to rules formulated before the successful vaccine roll out.
“A strong focus on testing when cases are identified, rather than isolating fit and healthy people, would help to avoid mass isolations.”

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The crash in international tourism due to the coronavirus pandemic could cause a loss of more than $4 trillion to the global GDP for the years 2020 and 2021, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD).
The estimated loss has been caused by the pandemic’s direct impact on tourism and its ripple effect on other sectors closely linked to it.
The report, jointly presented with the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), says international tourism and its closely linked sectors suffered an estimated loss of $2.4 trillion in 2020 due to direct and indirect impacts of a steep drop in international tourist arrivals.
A similar loss may occur this year, the report warns, noting that the tourism sector’s recovery will largely depend on the uptake of Covid-19 vaccines globally.
“The world needs a global vaccination effort that will protect workers, mitigate adverse social effects and make strategic decisions regarding tourism, taking potential structural changes into account,” UNCTAD acting secretary-general, Isabelle Durant, said.ADVERTISEMENTWith Covid-19 vaccinations being more pronounced in some countries than others, the report says, tourism losses are reduced in most developed countries but worsened in developing countries.
Covid-19 vaccination rates are uneven across countries, ranging from below one per cent of the population in some countries to above 60 per cent in others.
According to the report, the asymmetric roll-out of vaccines magnifies the economic blow tourism has suffered in developing countries, as they could account for up to 60 per cent of the global GDP losses.
The tourism sector is expected to recover faster in countries with high vaccination rates, such as France, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, the report says.
But experts do not expect a return to pre-COVID-19 international tourist arrival levels until 2023 or later, according to UNWTO.
The main barriers are travel restrictions, slow containment of the virus, low traveller confidence and a poor economic environment.
UNWTO secretary-general, Zurab Pololikashvili, said: “Tourism is a lifeline for millions, and advancing vaccination to protect communities and support tourism’s safe restart is critical to the recovery of jobs and generation of much-needed resources, especially in developing countries, many of which are highly dependent on international tourism.”
A rebound in international tourism is expected in the second half of this year, but the UNCTAD report still shows a loss of between $1.7 trillion and $2.4 trillion in 2021, compared with 2019 levels.
The results are based on simulations that capture the effects of international tourism reduction only, not policies such as economic stimulus programmes that may soften the pandemic’s impact on the sector.

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