Boris Johnson will come under pressure today from a newly-formed action group demanding that international travel resumes from May 1.
It comes amid claims that the Government has in effect declared war on the travel industry with its advice that no one should book a holiday either in Britain or overseas.
The new group, called Save Our Summer (SOS), is made up of UK travel companies whose total annual revenues came to more than £11billion before the Covid crisis.
It is demanding that the Prime Minister and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announce a clear timeline for the opening up of travel.
The new group, called Save Our Summer (SOS), is made up of UK travel companies whose total annual revenues came to more than £11billion before the Covid crisis
They want this to reflect the Government’s own projections that all the most vulnerable people in the UK should have received two doses of vaccine by early spring.
The group is supported by travel firms, which are guaranteeing that anyone booking through them will be entitled to either receive a refund or rebook their holiday if travel is cancelled or not possible due to Government Covid-19 restrictions.
They include Trailfinders, Easyjet Holidays, DialAFlight, Celebrity Cruises, Scott Dunn, Mr and Mrs Smith, Audley Travel, True Travel, Wild Frontiers, Elegant Resorts and Teletext Holidays. Henry Morley, chief executive of True Travel and co-founder of Save Our Summer, said: ‘The travel industry stands on the edge of a precipice. A minister’s job is to protect our industry, not destroy it.’
Mr Shapps was widely criticised after claiming last week that it was ‘illegal’ to book a holiday.
It is demanding that the Prime Minister and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announce a clear timeline for the opening up of travel
They want this to reflect the Government’s own projections that all the most vulnerable people in the UK should have received two doses of vaccine by early spring
It came after Mr Johnson had earlier said he was ‘optimistic’ about summer holidays and Health Secretary Matt Hancock admitted he had already booked his break in Cornwall.
Peter Stephens, founder and managing director of DialAFlight, said: ‘I despair at the Government’s lack of understanding of the travel industry. Most ministers have never run a business in their lives. They just talk for a living.’
More than one in ten jobs in the UK is in the travel sector, which accounts for approximately 10 per cent of Britain’s GDP, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
SOS is calling for a specific plan for travel from May 1 to boost consumer confidence and protect millions of jobs.
The group is supported by travel firms, which are guaranteeing that anyone booking through them will be entitled to either receive a refund or rebook their holiday if travel is cancelled or not possible due to Government Covid-19 restrictions
Whitehall sources have confirmed that coronavirus vaccine and testing certificates could be introduced when people are allowed to travel, and Spain has announced that it hopes to welcome holidaymakers from Britain this summer.
US President Joe Biden has also expressed his intention to lift the ban on visitors to America following news that more than 50million doses of vaccine have already been administered across the country.
Paul Charles, of the PC Agency and a co-founder of SOS, said: ‘Give us all a break Boris. The industry is united in outrage. Senior government ministers have done a good job of torpedoing recovery in the travel sector and threatening jobs across travel and tourism. UK citizens should ignore their conflicting advice and book summer trips with confidence.’
Mr Shapps’ advice last week for future travel was ‘do nothing’, a remark that incensed tour operators and was seen as a declaration of war because under consumer laws, anyone who books a package holiday and then has to cancel because of government restrictions must receive a full refund within 14 days.
They include Trailfinders, Easyjet Holidays, DialAFlight, Celebrity Cruises, Scott Dunn, Mr and Mrs Smith, Audley Travel, True Travel, Wild Frontiers, Elegant Resorts and Teletext Holidays
Mr Stephens said: ‘A lot of our customers are over 50 and are desperate to travel. It gives them something to look forward to and helps companies survive. Ill-informed statements from government ministers are irresponsible and reckless – and exactly what we don’t want at this time.’
In a separate development, Sean Doyle, chief executive of British Airways, has written to the Prime Minister saying that ‘after a year of restrictions, during which the British people have made many personal sacrifices, denying them the chance of a summer holiday for a second year running is going to prolong their anguish’.
And Brittany Ferries has urged the Government to rethink travel corridors after hitting its target of giving 15million people their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
Chief executive Christophe Mathieu said the progress of vaccination drives should allow reciprocal travel corridors to be opened up by summer between the UK, France and Spain.