The Association of Northern Ireland Travel Agents (ANTIA) are calling on the NI Executive to recognise that the travel industry here are now the hardest hit industry in Northern Ireland and provide further support after what has been described as a “horrendous 12 months”.
ANITA have written to the Executive to call an urgent meeting with ministers to discuss assistance for the travel industry for the rest of 2021.
While travel agents across the Province may be allowed to open their doors to the public next week, people are still not allowed to travel. With this in mind, ANITA are calling on the Executive to extend the furlough scheme until the end of this year for travel sector employees, ensure the travel industry is included in the voucher scheme, reduce the costs of PCR tests to make them an affordable part of travel and help to organise a marketing campaign around the safe resumption of foreign travel.
We caught up ANITA interim chair Damian Murphy at the NITN Virtual Travel Kickstart to Recovery Forum: “We have today written to the Northern Ireland Executive asking them to further recognise the catastrophic effect this pandemic has had on our industry.
“The hospitality industry have been promised further LRSS support – even when they can partially open – so this should also apply to us.
“Whilst we may be allowed to open our doors next week, we still cannot send anyone away as we are still waiting on a travel re-start date and clarification on the traffic light system.
“It is really important that the Executive listen to our call to set up a dedicated department so that we have contact and a voice there. We need help to organise a marketing campaign around foreign travel showing people that going abroad can once again be done safely and of course can again be as enjoyable as before, of course when the time is right.
“We need to further reduce the costs of PCR tests to make them an affordable part of travel in the short term. We need to ensure that our industry is included in the voucher scheme due to be announced by them shortly and that furlough is extended to the end of this year for our employees to give us a better chance of a strong 2022.
“While other sectors of the economy will able to trade at full tilt almost from day 1 when they re-open, it will be some time before we are in that position.”
The letter was co-signed by Damian Murphy, Richard Cooper and Tracie Duffy and has called for an urgent meeting with Executive ministers to discuss assistance for the travel industry for the rest of 2021.
