A leading travel agent says the trade is now in the best position it has been in since the start of the pandemic, and public sentiment for travel is now backing the industry.
The optimism followed the government’s latest traffic light announcement, made late on August 4, in which seven countries were added to the green list, France was removed from the amber-plus list and Spain avoided the red list. Four countries, including the UAE, moved from red to amber while Mexico was among those to switch to the red list, from August 8.
Miles Morgan Travel chairman Miles Morgan told a Travel Weekly webcast that public sentiment had now changed, with consumers now wanting “to get on with their lives”.
He said: “We are in the best position since this thing started. It’s about where we go from here. The public is starting to get behind us.
“I think that will put pressure on the government to take a more pragmatic and sensible approach on travel to get the wheels back on the bus. The winds of change are there. There is a lot of good news at the moment.”
Morgan said he is “quietly optimistic” that all his staff can return from furlough when the government support scheme finishes at the end of September – or even earlier as business picks up.
Over the course of the pandemic, about 40% of his payroll has not used furlough because he has needed staff to look after customers, so it’s not such a “big gap to bridge” as it would have been if all staff had been furloughed.
All his branches are now open for their normal full hours, until 10pm, as he said it is an “outward message” to consumers that the agents are “out there to look after you”.
Caribours managing director Paul Cleary agreed: “There is a light at the end of the tunnel.”