These are extraordinary times, there is no denying.
As I type this Country is undergoing a dramatic period of political uncertainty.
But party politics aside, let’s analyse how Brexit will effect our holidays. I recently stumbled across a report that was published in the summer and having read it have extracted some of the most important points and will present them below as clear as possible.
A survey of more than 130 firms highlights fears that British holiday companies will no longer be able to employ their UK staff on the continent on UK terms – for instance paying tax and National Insurance in the UK for the NHS – and will instead have to pay into much more expensive continental state social insurance schemes.
Such changes could mean:
• Holiday companies facing a 58% increase in costs
• Holiday companies employing less staff from Britain – reducing job and training opportunities at home, especially for younger Britons and negatively impacting holiday experiences for millions of British tourists
• The closure or merger of smaller family-owned holiday businesses
The cost increases of the scale predicted will just not be feasible for many companies and they are not set up to be able to employ EU nationals.
This means they will be forced to close or sell, putting in jeopardy the £16.5 billion the sector contributes to the UK economy and £1 billion it delivers directly to the UK Exchequer.
There are an estimated 25,000 UK nationals working in the EU supporting the seasonal holiday industry whose jobs are at risk with any of the Brexit scenarios currently in prospect, the report warns.
So the report seems overall fairly worrying, but could it be scaremongering? You be the judge!
With new technology lowering the costs of running a cruise ship and the rapid expansion of the cruising industry I hold a firm belief that we will hold fast and enjoy our cruises for many, many years to come.
Happy Cruising!
Ed x