Travel Agents: Coronavirus

(asked on 14th January 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the provision of financial support for online travel agencies that have not been eligible for business support schemes during the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Nigel Huddleston Portrait
Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question was answered on 20th January 2021

We hold regular discussions with Her Majesty’s Treasury and across Government regarding the significant impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the travel sector, including online travel agencies.

The Government has introduced a number of support measures for businesses and individuals through COVID-19, which online travel agencies can access. These include various government-backed loans, as well as the extended furlough and self-employed support schemes.

The Chancellor also announced that Local Authorities in England will be given an additional £594 million discretionary funding to support their local businesses. This builds on the £1.1 billion discretionary funding which local authorities in England have already received to support their local economies and help businesses impacted. The guidance for this funding encourages Local Authorities to develop discretionary grant schemes to help those businesses which - while not legally forced to close - are nonetheless severely impacted by the restrictions. We encourage local authorities to be sympathetic to applications from businesses such as online travel agents who may not have been eligible for other grants.

We continue to engage with relevant stakeholders, including UKInbound and the Association of British Travel Agents, to assess how we can best support the sector’s domestic and international recovery.

Reticulating Splines