The devastating effect of Covid on the UK travel industry is laid bare in new statistics published by the Office for National Statistics.
The figures reveals that turnover for businesses in the travel and tourism industry had fallen to 27.8 per cent of February 2020 levels by April, compared with 71.7 per cent for other industries.
Credit: ONS
In the travel sector, accommodation and travel agency businesses saw the sharpest decline in turnover during the first national lockdown, falling to 9.3 per cent of their February levels in May.
The second lockdown in England in November 2020 also saw turnover plummet. The travel sector as a whole saw its turnover fall to 51.5 per cent of levels in February 2020. Turnover for accommodation and travel agencies in November was 20.8 per cent of February 2020 levels.
With no large-scale events able to take place, the exhibition and conference sector collapsed after the first lockdown and has remained depressed ever since. Turnover in the sector in November stood at 35.7 per cent of February 2020 levels.