#SaveLanguageTravel

We have been in a holding pen for almost 15 months, doing everything we can to keep businesses built up over decades alive.

Lisa James

There is an extremely high level of frustration amongst UK based ELT providers currently.  Lisa James, the Managing Director of Young Learners at EC English Language Centres, is continuing to raise awareness and highlight the desperate battle for the survival of the UK’s ELT sector as borders remain closed to key markets and the UK Government refuses to provide support.

We, at EdMagazine, want to bring to the attention of the public the “yell-out” that Lisa James has shared on LinkedIn:

“For anyone whose business relies on the ability for people to travel and borders being open, the #ukgovernment announcement yesterday on travel is so much more than disappointing.

We have been in a holding pen for almost 15 months, doing everything we can to keep businesses built up over decades alive. Yesterday’s announcement leaves us once again with ZERO clarity on when we may be able to flourish once more.

Many of us are operating on less than 20% of our 2019 numbers, many of us feel we will be ‘lucky’ to hit 10%. ALL of us have said farewell to colleagues even with the #furlough scheme. Enough is enough!

The #ukgov may be choosing to turn the UK into a Covid safe ‘fortress’ – and many may celebrate this, looking to Australia and New Zealand as success stories … not in our industry they are not! Their closed border strategy has decimated our beloved industry.

I would like to ask #borisjohnson #rishisunak and Grant Shapps how they now intend to financially support the thousands of people reliant on #travelandtourism to survive?

Keep the borders closed by all means, but support those who can’t operate unless they are open. Despite us all following every rule, you’ve ever laid out to keep our schools safe!
#SaveInboundTourism #SaveLanguageTravel”

 The reasons why they feel so frustrated are listed below:

• One-third of English UK members expect a zero recovery in 2021.  The rest, less than 40%, in light of the recent announcement of travel 10-20% of their summer business is lost
• The summer season is absolutely vital for the UK ELT industry
• Despite the promise of business rate relief being promised to all in tourism, leisure and hospitality only 17 local authorities across the whole of the UK are actually providing it.  Business rates are one of the largest fixed costs faced by the schools.
• Restart grants (part of the UK GOV covid relief pledge) are not available to the ELT sector
• At last count over 50 (13%) of centres have closed and this will only increase if something is not done urgently 
• In March 2021 it was estimated that English UK member centres lost £590m in gross revenue overall in 2020. 91% of UK ELT jobs have been impacted, with 54% of jobs lost and an additional 18% of staff furloughed

The UK’s ELT industry attracts 550,000 students to the UK every year. These students contribute £1.4bn to the UK economy annually, creating 35,000 jobs.