The UK Outbound Group, led by Advantage, AITO and ABTOT has this week written to industry leaders inviting them to attend an industry-wide meeting to discuss the sector’s political engagement strategy post-election.

The meeting is to be held at the Group’s Westminster Public Affairs consultancy – FTI Consulting – in central London and invites have been sent to industry leaders across the UK. The meeting is to take place on Monday 16 September 2024.

Speaking on behalf of the UK Outbound Group, Julia Lo Bue-Said, CEO, The Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “With the furore of a general election gripping the country, one could easily be under the impression that now is the time when the main parties unveil supportive measures that recognise the significance of the UK Outbound Travel sector. Needless to say, there is very little recognition of the economic importance of the sector in any of the main party manifestos.

“We are hosting this meeting of industry leaders to discuss our ongoing efforts to increase political attention on the UK Outbound Travel sector. The experience of the pandemic demonstrated that political understanding of how our industry works is poor with the consequence that the particular dynamics of our sector were completely overlooked when the Government was putting in place support packages.

“Over the last two years, we have – as part of the UK Outbound Travel Lobbying Group – advocated effectively on behalf of the sector and amplified the voice of our industry to politicians and policymakers across all major political parties.

“Our advocacy work has been supported by FTI Consulting, who have assisted us in making considerable progress in our ambition to ensure recognition for our members and their vital contributions to the UK. For example, the UK Outbound Group’s MP Engagement Programme, whereby we arrange for constituency MPs to visit their local travel businesses, has hosted almost 50 MPs within the last nine months, and allowed us to build strong relationships with key Government ministers, MPs and policymakers.

“With the impending election, we now believe it is vital for us to step up our activity to ensure that the travel industry receives the recognition and support it deserves as a vital economic contributor.

It will be an opportunity to discuss the Group’s progress to date, reflect on the results of the General Election, what this means for our work, the funding required to accelerate progress and the opportunities to expand our activity.”

The UK Outbound Group today represents over 1250 SMEs across the UK Outbound Travel sector.