ABTA welcomed the announcement by the government today that it would set aside its repeal of the Furnished Holiday Lettings [FHL] rules until after the election. The repeal, ending tax relief on holiday homes, which was announced in the budget of April 2009, would have had serious harmful consequences for the domestic tourism sector leading to a loss of over £200 million and 4,500 jobs.

The repeal was due to be included in the Finance Bill and has been given a reprieve following industry pressure from ABTA, the Tourism Alliance and ABTA Member the Holiday Cottages Group. A review of the repeal was one the key demands in the ABTA Travel Manifesto and follows on from representations made by the Association to government earlier in the year.

Mark Tanzer ABTA Chief Executive said: “The repeal of the FHL rules would have had an extremely damaging impact on domestic tourism and many of our Members’ businesses and we welcome the Government’s sensible decision to set aside the proposed repeal for the time being. We will call on the new government in office after 6 May to listen to industry concerns and reform FHLs in a way that both achieves Government objectives as well as supporting domestic tourism.”