Abta defends choosing mainly long-haul destinations to watch for 2020
Exclusive: Average distance of ‘12 destinations to watch’ in 2020 is 3,200 miles
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Your support makes all the difference.Abta, the travel association, has defended the preponderance of long-haul locations it has chosen among its “12 destinations to watch” for 2020.
More than half of the cities, regions and countries chosen by the association are outside Europe: Chicago, Grenada, Morocco, Namibia, Singapore, South Korea and Uruguay.
The Independent has calculated that the average distance of the dozen destinations from Abta headquarters in London is 3,200 miles – requiring a 6,400-mile round trip.
No British destinations have been selected. The only location with access by ferry and rail from the UK is the Netherlands.
Two of the European locations are reasonably easy to access by rail: Madrid and Vienna. But Basilicata in southern Italy involves a train journey of at least 24 hours, while reaching the former Soviet republic of Georgia (over 2,000 miles away but technically part of Europe) requires a minimum of four days overland travel.
Mark Tanzer, chief executive of the travel association, said: “Abta and our members are very aware of the carbon challenge and we’re quite prepared to meet that.
“The answer can’t be to stop flying altogether. Nor is it to fly in an uncontrolled way. So the challenge that the industry has, and indeed the whole of society has, is: how do we deliver all the good things that travel brings in a sustainable way in the future?
“There isn’t a single knockout answer. It’s partly newer aircraft which are more fuel-efficient, better management of airspace, more efficient use of aeroplanes, flying fuller aeroplanes. And then for what can’t be eliminated, we should have a credible offsetting scheme that the industry can get behind.”
Mr Tanzer also refuted the suggestion that 2019 had been a “terrible year” for the UK travel industry.
Thomas Cook, which collapsed after 178 years, was the most notable of several failures during the year – which included Superbreak and LateRooms.
“There have been some bumps in the road this year for sure,” he said. “We’ve lost one or two very famous names from the travel industry, and that’s caused a lot of pain to employees and to other companies who are involved.
“But already we’re seeing the travel industry take shape again, people are moving into that space. The demand is still there.
“It’s been a rocky period, but I’m very confident the future is going to be bright.”
The average distance from London of the 2019 destinations selected by Abta, which included Argentina and New Zealand, was 3,900 miles – involving a 7,800-mile round trip.
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