Travel companies claim the credit crunch is still not having any significant impact on trade.
Businesses at this week’s Association of Women Travel Executives lunch said they were yet to see any signs of the economic slowdown hitting sales.
New Frontiers managing director Julia Feuell said recruitment companies were usually the first to notice a downturn in the travel sector. She added: “We are not seeing any sort of slowdown the industry is very busy so it is strange to read about it [the credit crunch].”
Silversea national sales manager Helen Peters claimed the luxury end of the market was “bucking the trend”.
She added: “The top end is doing really well and we are already seeing strong bookings for 2009. We are certainly not yet noticing any downturn.”
But she admitted many of Silversea’s customers were entrepreneurs with stocks and shares who could be affected longer term. “If these financial markets have a dodgy time we will feel the pinch who knows what 2010 will bring.”
Lufthansa general manager UK and Ireland Marianne Sammann added: “We are not seeing a downturn in travel one of the reasons could be that our main focus has been business travel.”