UK Prime Minister to Step Down as Brexit Saga Keeps Brits Home for the Holidays
British Prime Minister Theresa May announced on Friday, that she would be stepping down from her post on June 7, following inner-party pressure to reach a viable Brexit solution.
Speaking at Downing Street earlier today, May said that in her three-year premiership her government had managed to tackle the deficit, reduce unemployment and boost funding for mental health, admitting however that “It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit.”
In view of Brexit uncertainty, the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) called on travel companies to continue planning for the worst-case no-deal scenario.
“No-deal is not dormant, it’s having a nap – it will come back in October,” said Luke Petherbridge, head of public affairs at ABTA, adding that the industry needed to make sure planning for a hard Brexit “remains to the fore” in the current political environment.
Legal experts, meanwhile, have confirmed that UK airlines would still be able to fly to EU countries in a no-deal scenario until 29 March 2020, as long the UK allowed EU carriers to fly to Britain, but added that delays would be part of the picture.
Brexit impacting UK travel trends
In the meantime, a survey carried out by UK nature travel company CabinBookers found that insecurity over Brexit was prompting 90 percent of Britons to holiday at home.
According to the findings of the CabinBookers 2019 UK Holiday Survey carried out last week, Brexit is impacting UK travel trends with more than three quarters of the Brits surveyed opting to stay home.
The majority of respondents (75 percent) said they had already taken a UK break, while 92 percent were planning a UK holiday during the remainder of 2019.
Additionally, one in 10 said Brexit influenced them to take a UK holiday instead of traveling to Europe.