Tourist chiefs pin hopes on ‘sophisticated’ UK market

Tourist chiefs pin hopes on ‘sophisticated’ UK market

Report by MATTHEWHAMPTON

Standing firm: not all of North America is out of bounds – Canada is still open for business

The fallout from the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington has inevitably impacted on Canadian tourism.

Air Canada has accelerated the 4,000-strong job reduction programme it announced in August to a total of 9,000 jobs, and has reduced its overall flight schedules by 20%, removing 55 aircraft from its mainline fleet and 29 from the regional fleet.

Air Canada president and chief executive officer Robert Milton said:”Layoffs are not the first choice – they are the last resort.”

Destination marketing organisations have stressed they will continue with advertising campaigns, although nothing will be seen prior to World Travel Market next month. Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership president Eugene Zakreski said all eyes were now on the US.

“We can’t make a strategic decision until we know what the US will do next, and whether, as President Bush suggested, we are entering a recession,” he said.

“In the next four to six weeks, the consumer travel market will be depressed but, in tourism industry terms, the threat of a long-term recession is more worrying.”

In the event of a recession, warned Zakreski, the market will remain sluggish.

“Our operator partners tell us the British public is more sophisticated than the US public in its awareness of the terrorist problem. UK travellers can differentiate between the US and Canada, so we expect healthy bookings post-October.”

With concern over travel to the US rife, both operators and tourist offices are pointing out that Canadian cities could become switch-sell destinations from US ones – but acknowledged deciding whether to seize such an opportunity would be an ethical dilemma.

Destination Quebec director Josephine Wiggall Lazarus told operators at a recent event in London that now was the time to stand together.

“We’ve all been affected by events in New York, but we can show there’s more to this industry than the shallowness that some people associate with it. We have to fight back. Good luck to you all,” she said.