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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) recognise and (b) support the outbound travel industry.

DCMS recognises the contribution of the outbound travel sector to the UK economy, which in 2024, saw pre-trip outbound spending reach £40 billion.

The Government is dedicated to ensuring smooth and efficient border crossings for UK citizens traveling to and from the EU. Following confirmation from the European Union that there are no legal barriers to the use of e-gates for UK nationals travelling in and out of EU Member States, the Government has proactively engaged with a wide range of counterparts across Europe.Several countries, including Bulgaria and Portugal, already expanded e-gate access to new locations for UK travellers, and many more countries including Switzerland, Estonia, and Austria have committed to further expansion in due course.

To provide a more stable environment for businesses that arrange overseas travel, the Department for Business and Trade have recently announced reforms to The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements 2018. These changes simplify the regulations and provide stronger redress rights for travel providers, supporting UK tourism businesses selling holidays at home and abroad.

DCMS is also committed to working with airlines, rail and the cruise sector to support route development and encourage regional growth throughout the UK. This in turn benefits the essential infrastructure used by UK residents travelling overseas.