Tinkering with the green list does little to help our travel agents in despair - Joanne Dooey

Travel is being sacrificed and our members are in no doubt about this. What they can’t understand is why.

Seven countries have been added to the Green List for quarantine-free travel - Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania and Norway - but the move, although welcome, does little to help travel agents in Scotland who are facing another summer without any income, writes Joanne Dooey. (Photo: Getty Images)

We’ve had so little good news in the last 18 months, that we’re overjoyed at the smallest positive change such as the additions to the travel green list this week. But, in the cold light of day, the latest shuffle doesn’t change much at all. The opportunity for summer 2021 has passed in Scotland.

There are so many elephants in this particular room that it’s hard to know where to start.

Firstly, there’s the timing. As these changes come into force on Sunday many families will be preparing for the return to school of some pupils early as next Tuesday.

And, even if there are no school children in your party, tour operators don’t have the flights and accommodation packages in place at the drop of this particular hat.

Also, lovely destinations as they are, none of the countries in the latest green list merry-go-round top the most popular destinations for Scots to holiday.

It means that the next time travel agents will have any realistic revenue will be early summer 2022, as travel agents are only paid when the customer actually travels.

We’ve been calling for Scottish agents to be given business disruption support similar to that being given to our travel agent colleagues in Wales by the Welsh Government.

The Australian government has also supported its travel agents throughout the pandemic; announcing in May another round of support bringing the total direct support to travel agents to ASD258million – or around £137million.

More than 2,800 travel agents in Australia have received almost £51million to help them trade, provide refunds and hold credits. In 2020 Germany, a state-guaranteed scheme launched with €840 million to cover vouchers issued by travel operators for cancelled travel packages.

Scottish travel agents are in need of urgent support because of the travel financial model. The traveller may hand their money to the agent, but that payment goes immediately and directly to the tour operator. The agent only receives their payment when the customer goes on their trip.

Travel agents are well used to squirrelling away revenue from the ‘high season’ to tide them over the ‘off’ season. But, not only did travel agents operate at less than 10% of their pre-pandemic rates in 2020 and 2021 to date, but they also had to refund their 2019 revenue. To add insult to injury, they – and not the tour operators – had to foot the credit card refund charges leading to negative income.

Even if the testing regime eases and the paperwork around travel simplifies, it will be summer 2022 before agents will see any income. In the meantime, after two full years with no income, they continue to have to pay all of their overheads and keep their shops open to advise clients and to re-book some holidays for the seventh or eighth time – all with no income.

With international travel looking to remain a far more complex undertaking than before, Scotland is going to need its travel agents more than ever in future.

Joanne Dooey is the president of The Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association (SPAA), the professional body for travel agents and the travel sector in Scotland.

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