ABTA Comments on Government Reshuffle

2012-09-04 — /travelprnews.com/ — Responding to the Ministerial changes announced by the Prime Minister today, Luke Pollard, Head of Public Affairs at ABTA – The Travel Association said:

“It is all change for Ministers with travel and tourism portfolios. It is too early to read too much into a change of personnel at the top so we will wait to see what moving Justine Greening and Theresa Villiers from the DfT will mean in terms of a new approach to aviation from Government.  It is essential that the Government urgently addresses key issues in aviation, particularly airport capacity and taxation.  There has been much debate that the long-awaited consultation on capacity is being moved forward and this could well be Patrick Mcloughlin’s first big announcement as Transport Secretary. In addition, we look forward to discussing how domestic, inbound and outbound tourism can help economic recovery with Maria Miller MP, the new Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

ABTA has a close working relationship with DfT and DCMS Ministers and we have already been in touch with those departments seeking early meetings with the new Ministers. We have a strong story to tell about how travel and tourism can provide more jobs and boost the economy but we are reliant on Government looking again at aviation capacity and plans to hike Air Passenger Duty in particular. We will be using the opportunity this reshuffle offers to reinforce the view of ABTA Members in Westminster in relation to tax, infrastructure and consumer protection.”

For further information

Sean Tipton, Media Relations Manager, tel: 020 3117 0513
Gillian Edwards, Senior Public Relations Manager, 020 3117 0514
Victoria Bacon Head of Communications, tel: 020 3117 0515
Out of Hours:  Contact the Duty Press Officer via pager: 07659 190 987
E-mail: press@abta.co.uk
Web: www.abta.com
Twitter: @ABTAtravel

Notes to editors

ABTA has been at the heart of travel for more than 60 years. Our purpose is to help our Members to grow their businesses successfully and sustainably, and to help their customers – the travelling public – have confidence in their travel experience.

The ABTA brand stands for expertise, reliability and fairness. These qualities are core to us. They ensure that holidaymakers remain confident in the holiday products that they buy from our Members.

We help our Members and their customers navigate through today’s changing travel landscape by providing schemes of financial protection and a course of redress if something goes wrong; by raising standards in the industry and by giving guidance on issues from sustainability to health and safety; and by presenting a united voice to government to ensure the industry and the public get a fair deal.

ABTA currently has over 1,300 Members and represents over 5,000 retail outlets and offices. For more details about what we do, what being an ABTA Member means and how we’re working at the heart of the industry to ensure that we continue to build confidence in travel visit www.abta.com.

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