We’re a Year into the New U.K. Government – So What Has This Meant for the Travel Industry?

The Labour government turns one this week. To mark the occasion, TTG reached out to several industry leaders for their assessment of what progress has been achieved for travel over the past year, and where there is still work to be done. Our first contributor is ABTA’s director of industry affairs Luke Petherbridge.

It’s hard to believe it’s just a year since Labour was elected. A lot has happened in that time, particularly geopolitically. So one year in, what has the new government meant for our industry – and what lies ahead?

There has certainly been some welcome progress across a number of policy areas the travel industry was raising ahead of the general election, including the themes raised in ABTA manifesto.

Take positioning the UK as a sustainable travel leader – one of the pillars of our manifesto. We know getting this right will be crucial to the future operational and reputational success of our industry.

It’s therefore very welcome that we’ve seen the introduction of the sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) mandate, and meaningful progress on a revenue support mechanism to stimulate private investment in the development of a domestic supply and distribution network of SAF.

Coupled with a generally positive stance on airport expansion, these are really positive signs the UK government stands ready to support the long-term future of the UK travel industry.

Similarly, the outcome of the UK-EU summit in May included commitments to push for the wider use of e-gates for UK nationals, a UK-EU youth experience scheme, and expanding the sharing of health data, among other policies. These all stand as further evidence travel’s asks are being listened to.

But it’s not all plain sailing. On issues of competitiveness – another pillar of our manifesto – things are a little more mixed. On the upside, we’ve seen commitments to deliver business rates reform, which is what we asked for. That consultation process is underway, with ABTA feeding in on members’ behalf. The flip side to this has been the reduction in business rates support.

And, you really cannot assess the last year without recognising the additional burden of increased employers’ National Insurance contributions. We’re tracking this closely. The latest Future Travel Coalition survey shows a 9% decline in employment, representing a concerning reversal of the positive trend for employment in our sector since the pandemic. These findings will be shared with government.

There is also a wider point about our competitiveness. In our manifesto, we talked about the risk of layering taxes and charges on tourism, which remains a clear threat. In the past year, we have seen Air Passenger Duty increase, passport prices go up and a 60% increase to the cost of the UK’s new Electronic Travel Authority for overseas visitors.

At a time when consumer spending is squeezed, it’s important that tourists – and tourism businesses – are not seen as a soft touch for increased taxation. With many UK cities going public with asks to introduce tourism taxes, it’s important we across tourism – inbound, outbound and domestic – unite to make this point loudly and clearly.

It has been said a million times that this government is focused on growth. That’s come through in some of the decisions taken. With this in mind, we must keep reminding ministers that travel can help deliver this ambition. ABTA’s latest report puts the case strongly, highlighting how our industry can deliver an additional £10 billion in GVA (gross value added) with the right support from government.

While many of the decisions referenced are in their early stages, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that this is year one of a five-year parliament. Much of what has been announced shows the government does indeed see the value of our industry.

Tourism minister Sir Chris Bryant said so himself when he addressed ABTA’s Travel Matters conference recently, highlighting how he considers outbound travel to be as important as inbound, and that all of tourism has an important role to play in the years ahead.

Luke Petherbridge, Director of Public Affairs, ABTA

This column first appeared in TTG on 30 June 2025