Julia Lo Bue-Said: 'We need £200k to get govt to recognise travel as an economic sector'

Lo Bue-Said said despite its more than £80 billion economic contribution, outbound travel still wasn’t being taken seriously as an economic sector. "Hospitality would be talked about, investments, banking, energy," she said. "Aviation might be, and it’s part of our eco-system, but outbound travel won’t. What we’re looking for is recognition."

She said travel still lacked "a proper home" in government with no dedicated ministerial or departmental responsibility. Asked what that would look like, Lo Bue-Said said it would be ideal to have a minister for outbound travel – operating separately to an aviation minister – attached to the Department for Transport.

"At the moment, we sit with DCMS, but it’s probably seen as the weakest department, if we’re true to ourselves," she said, adding a minister spanning both aviation and trade would be ideal.

Lo Bue-Said highlighted Brexit as a missed opportunity to simplify and harmonise the regulations governing travel to provide clarity for consumers and for the industry. "We’re not seeing any of that yet," she told delegates.

’Walk the talk’

Asked whether her ambition would require existing groups to come together, coordinate better or even merge, Lo Bue-Said insisted it was a moment for the industry to take ownership and responsibility for its destiny and stand up for what it believes in.

"We’ve got to walk the talk, put our hands in our pockets, and fund the right type of expertise to open doors for us and then make sure we speak coherently when we actually open those doors," she said.

"It’s about having that little black book when you need to speak with government, with the various departments. The industry doesn’t have that. We have pockets in different parts of government, without question. I was appointed by the DCMS to the Tourism Industry Council, but outbound travel is a tiny voice of that.

"We need a holistic approach so everyone can engage and lobby as they want."

Taking questions from the floor, Lo Bue-Said was asked whether she had a "red version" of her outbound travel agenda ready in the event Labour wins next month’s general election, and how she would elevate her pitch with the next government’s in-tray already overflowing.

In response, she said while travel was never going to be top of the list, it was incumbent on the industry to make its voice heard, to speak up for the wealth it generates and to position itself as a thriving, important, responsible industry.

"The industry needs to cough up, take responsibility and work together to make sure that we’re never in a position like we were during Covid, where the voice just was not there at all," she said.

Asked how much this would cost, she added: "We need to build a war chest of about £200,000. We’re asking organisations to put £10,000 in the pot. It’s not a big commitment, and is an opportunity to do the right thing."