The chief executive of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, Steve Heapy, has warned the UK government not to treat the travel sector as a ‘cash cow’ ahead of the Autumn Budget, expressing deep concerns about new tax burdens. Speaking at the ABTA Travel Convention in Calvia last week, Heapy expressed fears that more workers will be pushed into a higher tax bracket with the November announcements and he warned that will no be good for the travel industry, neither at home in the UK nor abroad.
He said that his company alone pays some half a billion pounds to the treasury in tax every year.
“We’re an economic force for good and we, as an industry, should be treated with respect and responsibility. Apart from our impact on the GDP, we create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the UK and depend on a large supply chain. But, there is only so much elasticity, of the British government wants to keep pulling at the finances of the travel industry, in particular tour operators and airlines, then things will snap and that will not benefit anyone.
“We’re also having to meet expensive green and emission targets. We’ve been set SAF, sustainable aviation fuel, targets and these mean extra costs – specially when such a small amount of the fuel is being produced in the UK and we know much more could at cheaper costs to the airline industry, so perhaps the government could do us a favour there,” he said.
“We’re having to pay peak prices and while at the moment just 2% has to be SAF, by 2030, it will be 10% and that will mean extra costs, it will hit the bottom lines and that could mean extra costs being passed on to consumers, which we don’t like to do. But the budget may give us no alternative,” he said. “The increase in National Insurance contributions has cost us £25m. Any further tax increases will affect us again,” he added.
The Jet2 boss highlighted that the number of Britons in the highest tax bracket has doubled in the past 12 years, calling on the government to show respect for an industry that “delivers significant benefits to society and the economy”. But, despite the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming budget announcements, Heapy said demand for travel remained “strong and steady”, describing holidays as “one of the most essential consumer spending needs”.
He told the Bulletin that Balearics bookings are strong and that he was pleased with the summer and satisfied with low season demand. But, he stressed the importance of booking holidays with professionals who know what they are talking about. He appeared sceptical about the use of Artificial Intelligence and influencers.
“AI is not perfect and one has to ask who some of these influencers are. Quite often, customers are carrying out so much research h on their own on websites etc. they know m ore about the destinations they want to travel to than some of the travel experts, so it’s a very professional industry and everyone involved whether it is travel agents or call centres has to know what they are talking about.
“With AI, for example, it’s not always correct, it’s going to take a long time to actually replace people. I guess it is like in 2005 with the website boom, it’s a bit like the wild west at the moment. People need accurate and reliable information when booking and going on holiday,” he said. “And we, like the other tour operators and travel agents offer a bespoke service,” he added. “We look you in the eye.”
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