Amber Rudd to give keynote speech at Abta’s Travel Matters conference

Former government minister Amber Rudd is to give the keynote speech at Abta’s Travel Matters conference this year.

The event on Wednesday, June 22, has the theme ‘An Agenda for Recovery and Renewal’, and brings together industry leaders to debate the biggest political and policy issues facing the sector.

Rudd, who served as home secretary and secretary of state for work and pensions, will share insight and anecdotes about the inner workings of Westminster.

Other speakers in the conference line-up include Nikki da Costa, a commentator on politics, legislation and parliament who served as director of legislative affairs at 10 Downing Street under prime ministers Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

She will give advice to travel businesses on how to prepare for the run-up to the next general election and ways the industry can develop a strong working relationship with the UK government and opposition party.

Industry leaders on the panel are: Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer; Airport Operators Association chief executive Karen Dee; Iata UK & Ireland country manager Simon McNamara; Abta chairman Alistair Rowland; Airlines UK chief executive Tim Alderslade; Travel Trade Consultancy director Martin Alcock; Cosmos chief executive Giles Hawke; G Adventures managing director EMEA Brian Young; Hotelplan group head of sustainability Prue Stone; and Intertek group director of operations Andy Janes.

Also in the line-up from Abta are the association’s director of public affairs Luke Petherbridge and director of industry relations Susan Deer.

The event, to be moderated by LBC’s Tom Swarbrick, is exactly one year on from the Travel Day of Action, which took place on June 23, 2021, and aims to offer the chance for speakers to reflect on what lessons can be learnt from the pandemic, explore how travel business leaders can manage the new environment, and assess what the industry needs from its relationship with the UK government to ensure its long-term success.

Petherbridge said: “As the travel industry continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic, there are many critical challenges ahead, including rebuilding consumer confidence, attracting talent back to the industry and withstanding geopolitical turbulence.

“Constructive and regular engagement between industry and government will be required to successfully tackle these challenges, and I’m looking forward to hearing industry leaders and political experts outline their views on the way ahead for travel.”

There are a limited number of places available to be purchased to attend the event.