UK political instability paralysing travel sector, warn industry leaders

Industry leaders have warned domestic political instability is paralysing the travel sector’s ability to make long-term decisions as firms struggle to navigate a “massive distraction” at the heart of government.

In a panel discussion at the Advantage Travel Partnership conference in Madrid, which coincided with prime minister Keir Starmer facing a leadership challenge in the UK, a ‘Leadership View’ panel agreed the crisis of governance threatens the UK travel industry’s long-term viability.

Oli Winton, senior managing director of FTI Consulting, noted the shift from established international concerns to “domestic political instability” over the past week.

“Businesses can’t plan anything on any policy in the UK right now, not knowing who the prime minister might be next week, next month,” he said.

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Winton argued that while the industry has shown “incredible resilience” through events like the ash cloud and the pandemic, it “shouldn’t have to rely on itself” in the absence of government support, as he described the focus on leadership votes as a “massive distraction”.

This was echoed by Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, who added the industry must focus on building consumer confidence ahead of the summer peak season.

“The latest Barclays study shows consumers are very nervous; as an industry we’ve got to do everything we can to maintain confidence,” he said.

Alderslade maintained Airlines UK is “not seeing jet fuel shortages currently” and has “good visibility over the next couple of months or so”.

“We’re having good engagement with the government, which is putting measures in place that will potentially help in terms of contingency,” he added, explaining Airlines UK is “seeing less than 1% of cancellations right now”.