Scotland’s National Party has allocated £3.5m to support outbound travel agents, it was confirmed yesterday.

ABTA welcomed the news, saying it and its members and industry partners had been  lobbying for a number of weeks for the grants.

‘It is welcome that ministers have now recognised the detrimental impact that Omicron travel restrictions had on businesses in our sector,” said ABTA Director of Public Affairs, Luke Petherbridge.

“ABTA will work closely with officials and industry partners to seek a scheme structure that supports as many travel businesses as possible, and we’ll be working hard to provide evidence and share expertise over the coming days. 

“ABTA’s lobbying is also focused on ensuring future travel rules provide the stability required to rebuild confidence and get people travelling again in greater numbers, and we’ll continue to make that case to Governments across all parts of the UK.

“This news is very welcome, but we’re not out of the woods yet and we’ll continue to work hard to represent ABTA Member interests over the weeks and months ahead.”