As per data, 52 percent of tourism businesses – including tour operators, language schools and events – suffered a decrease in revenue of more than 50 percent, while almost a quarter of them still have booking levels for the first quarter of 2022 down by more than 50 percent.
The pandemic’s economic costs have also affected businesses’ cash reserves, with 26 percent of respondents admitting that they have no cash reserves while 55 percent saying that they have less than two months of cash reserves.
Due to the ongoing situation, 11 percent of tourism businesses are very likely to fail while 40.8 percent said that they are quite likely.
“Businesses that rely on international travel have done badly – language schools, events, conferences. And because booking times for these things are longer, they will take longer to recover,” said the Tourism Alliance’s director Kurt Janson.
To stop the sector from declining further, the body has urged the government to increase funding for international marketing, introduce a low-cost 5-year visitor visa along with revising travel package regulations and set up a ‘list of travelers’ scheme for student groups.
Tags: The UK tourism industry
