CRYSTAL Britain
staff could face redundancy following the operator’s decision to drop the
programme – the group’s only UK brand – to focus on overseas expansion.
Product manager
Simon Box is among 25 staff now in consultation with the company, which could
end with some being offered redundancy if alternative positions cannot be
found.
Crystal’s parent
company, the Specialist Holidays Group – an arm of TUI UK based in Kingston,
Surrey – is confident most staff will move to new jobs internally.
SHG managing
director Kevin Ivie said: “We anticipate the majority of staff will stay.
Obviously we are in consultation because we have to give people an opportunity
to make a decision.”
Ivie said Crystal
Britain was axed so SHG could expand its overseas programmes and roll out new
products.
The 12-year-old
Crystal Britain brand started life as an upmarket UK short-break operator,
although it dropped its premier brand some time ago.
Observers say the
brand did not fit with the TUI group’s strategy but have been surprised it had
been dropped completely because of its established trade name. Crystal Britain
was rated fifth in terms of market share.
“TUI is focused on
where it has flights and Crystal Britain stood apart from the rest of the
group,” said one source.
Ivie – who was at
First Choice when it sold its UK programme Rainbow – admitted the number of
customers booking direct with hotels was a factor but ruled out any connection
to the September 11 crisis.
He said the UK had
not been earmarked as a growth market despite Crystal’s “modest” size. “It is
not a market where we can add value. We don’t think in the short-term it will
have much growth and obviously there are a lot of people who book direct with
hotels,” added Ivie.
Existing bookings
will go ahead as planned but there will be no new brochure. Superbreak has
secured a preferred partner deal which will see it mop up many of Crystal’s
business.