Stoke travel agent calls on the government to save the industry
Fifteen months of shut down has put the sector on the brink of collapse
Workers in the travel industry across Staffordshire and Cheshire say it's time for the government to be clear on why their industry is still shut, fifteen months on.
An announcement is expected later today - as pressure mounts on ministers to expand the green list and relax restrictions on foreign trips.
Andy Dean is the co-owner of Oasis Travel in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent. He said:
"You can buy a pint from a pub, whether you're outside or inside, we can't sell anything, we can't sell holidays, we can't sell business travel, you can sell, obviously, if you England breaks, things like that, but there's nothing that we can do to start our industry back off.
"We just want to be fair, we have no support, really at all, and no other industries have been hit and things bought. People are open now and we can't sell anything.
"There's nothing that we can do to start our industry back off. We're way in front of what we need to be to allow people to get out of the country and with no need for quarantining, there's definitely no need for in my view for any, you know, PCR test, restricting travel and so on. When you actually take the time to look at the data as people have been putting on, it makes for a terrible reading from the government's point of view for the general public. We're way in front of what we need to be to allow people to get out of the country and with no need for quarantining.
"We just want you know, to be heard of where travel is and the needs to get people moving again, not just in the retail industry, you know, business people as well. families need to go abroad, see the families, people buying houses, doing work, a lot of different things, and that's what I travel is really needed at the minute"
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