New Travel Industry Alliance Admit Policy Change Won’t be Easy

The leaders of the newly-formed Travel Industry Alliance have admitted that their bid to force policy change in Downing Street won't be easy

The leaders of the newly-formed Travel Industry Alliance (TIA) have admitted that their bid to force policy change in Downing Street won’t be easy, but insisted that they will continue the fight regardless of the hardship.

The comprises nine industry bodies has two key aims – to end mandatory quarantine of UK arrivals ‘as soon as possible’, and to press the Foriegn Office into playing an informational, rather than an advisory role.

C-Chairman of the TIA, Danny Callaghan said his main focus is to break down the “shopping list approach” as “bundling everything together has made it more difficult.”

Mr Callaghan said: “It’s easier to say no to something like pre-departure testing, which is essential for travel, if you wrap it up with something we would love, which is financial support but which is easy to turn down.

“My view has always been that we should focus on key issues one at a time, even if they are done concurrently. Our focus is on that.”

Co-Chariman Derek Moore said: “We all agreed that if you ask the government for money, they suddenly go deaf and are not interested, hence why we stayed away from any discussion about money to save the industry.

“It’s an uphill battle but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to fight. Despite the fact that it’s going to be difficult to achieve the things the industry needs, that’s not a reason for not fighting and not trying.

“The Government has made it fairly clear at times that they regard the travel industry, frankly, as expendable. That is something we have to fight.

“We are not pretending the TIA is the one organisation that can sort all this. But the more we work together the stronger we are.”

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