business sessions

business sessions

&#42 on-line sales eating into package market

France has a healthy future as a tourist destination, but operators will find it harder to sell their products. During a discussion on France’s future, delegates heard the public is taking more short breaks but the increasing trend is to make their own arrangements on-line.

&#42 crisis plans essential for firms to survive

Every tour operator should have a crisis management plan that will allow it to continue trading, deal with the media and care for the relatives of the deceased and injured in an emergency. Docleaf managing director Dr David Perl, a specialist in crisis management, said: “Following the New York World Trade Centre bombing in 1993, 82% of firms affected went out of business because they were not prepared and were unable to get into their offices for six weeks.”  

&#42 choice diluting advertiser messages

Advertising is important, but effective advertising is getting ever more difficult to achieve, ABTOF delegates were told. During a discussion called ‘Advertising, does it still work?’ the conference heard the increase in television channels, rise of the Internet and wider choice of magazines has made it more difficult to reach a specific audience.