Travel industry bosses urge Government to encourage booking summer holidays

Despairing bosses urged the Government to encourage the public to start making summer holiday bookings
AP

Despairing travel industry bosses on Monday urged the Government to encourage the public to start making summer holiday bookings with companies that are fully protected by refund schemes.

They said that demand remained “frozen”, putting the sector’s future at risk because ministers have not made the distinction between bookings — which can be cancelled at no cost to the consumer if cases start to rise again — and actual departures.

Sue Ockwell, of travel operators association AITO, said: “We need some guidelines on when and what we can open. We need to be talking about booking now to give holiday companies a hope of survival.

“There’s just no joined up thinking and it’s horribly depressing. It takes time to get things going again, planes need to be checked, pilots have to get their flying hours back up, hotels needs to be checked.

“I’m worried that hotels will soon decide that it will cost more to start opening than to stay shut.

“The Prime Minister should be saying you can book holidays so long as it is with fully bonded, fully protected companies, then there is no risk.

“That would just give hope to companies running on empty for 13 months.”

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: “Once the most vulnerable people have all been protected with the first jab by May, there is no reason why the sector can’t open up fully.

“Opening up the travel sector is not like opening up a hairdressers, it needs plenty of notice and definitive timings.”

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