Delays in processing new British passports could cost £1.1 billion ($1.38 billion) in cancelled holiday bookings this summer, according to new research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).
It said there was a significant “pent-up” demand for travel after two summers which were virtually obliterated by the pandemic, but a backlog of new passport applications could have a devastating effect on the tourism industry.
CEBR said data from the VisitBritain COVID-19 Consumer Sentiment Tracker suggested more than two in five people are planning an overseas trip in the coming 12 months, and that leaves almost a million holiday makers at risk owing to the delays with new passports.
“Multiplying the resulting number of passports at risk with the average cost for a family holiday of around £2,400 [$3,015] suggests a cumulative loss of over £1.1 billion. If families aren’t able to get their money back, that is equivalent to a 5.4 percent loss of total yearly income for two adults working on the average UK yearly salary,” said CEBR.