Coach industry warns 27,000 jobs on the line without government support
Up to 27,000 jobs could be lost in the UK coach industry by April 2021 unless ministers provide extra support, an sector body has warned.
In a letter to tourism minister Nigel Huddleston, the Confederation of Passenger Transport has warned that with bookings not expected to pick up until next summer, the UK’s coach firms are in a “fight for [their] future”.
According to the CPT, the tourism industry risks losing £14bn unless extra support is given to such firms, 40 per cent of which could be out of business by next April.
In order to prevent this, the CPT has called for ministers to ban lenders from repossessing coaches for a 12 month period to ensure firms survive over the less busy winter period.
It also said that the coach industry should be treated like other leisure businesses such as hotels and restaurants so that firms can access other means of support.
Over 23m people visit UK attractions by coach every year, the CPT said, generating nearly 10 per cent of the tourism sector’s total contribution to the economy.
“The collapse of the coach travel sector will mean many of these visits simply do not take place, threatening jobs across the UK that rely on tourism”, it warned in the letter, which was first reported by the Telegraph.
Back in May SLG, the owner of coach firm Shearings went bust, with nearly 2,500 job losses as a result.
Without the support proposed above, industry figures are concerned that many more coach firms could follow suit.
CPT head of policy Alison Edwards said that allowing the sector to collapse would be a “dereliction of duty” by the government.
“The sector is vital to continued growth of UK tourism by ensuring that millions of people can visit attractions across the UK each year”, she added.
“Without support for coach travel we are risking not just the future of the sector but jobs across the tourism industry as people struggle to travel to days out.”
The director of the Tourism Alliance, Kurt Janson, said such firms were a “large and vital component of the UK’s world-class tourism industry”.
City PM has contacted the Department for Culture, Media and Sport for comment.