Travel Industry Seeks Member Insights on Geopolitical Tensions and EU Entry/Exit System
London, UK – The UK’s leading travel associations, Abta and the Future Travel Coalition, have launched a crucial survey to gather insights from their members regarding the profound impact of ongoing geopolitical instability in the Middle East and the impending introduction of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) on the travel market.
The joint initiative aims to understand how these significant external factors are shaping various aspects of the industry, including summer 2026 bookings, evolving consumer behaviour, operational challenges, and overall trading confidence among travel businesses.
Distributed to Abta and Future Travel Coalition members last week, the findings from this five-question survey, which has a deadline of May 15, will be instrumental in informing the associations’ advocacy efforts with governments in the UK and Brussels, as well as key destination partners.
This comes as the UK government recently announced its own consultation, inviting industry perspectives on airline slot hand-back provisions and other contingency measures designed to support the sector during potential fuel shortages. Abta emphasizes that its survey results will be “invaluable” in formulating a comprehensive response to this governmental consultation.
Luke Petherbridge, Abta’s Director of Public Affairs, underscored the importance of member participation: “Abta members’ views on how the conflict, as well as the introduction of EES, is impacting on their businesses are essential to help us have a successful and productive dialogue with government and decision makers in Brussels, as well as destinations.”
He added, “We regularly meet with government and colleagues in the aviation sector to ensure they understand how any impacts of the ongoing Middle East conflict and EES would be felt by our members. I would encourage ABTA and other Future Travel coalition members to take the time to fill in the survey before the 15 May deadline to ensure government is fully aware of your concerns and experiences.”
This proactive engagement highlights the industry’s commitment to navigating complex global challenges and ensuring its voice is heard at the highest levels of policy-making.
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