Listening to football pundits discussing the end of the Premier League season, you would have been hard-pushed to escape the word momentum.
A couple of weeks ago, Liverpool had it – and looked like they were going all the way. Then they lost it, and it was Manchester City who managed to find it at just the right time to clinch the title.
The general consensus seemed to be that maintaining momentum was fundamental to success.
As the travel industry enters its conference season, it too will be hoping to maintain the momentum it built over the early months of the year.
This week, three of the largest listed travel companies reported to the City, with easyJet putting on capacity ahead of the market and Tui Travel describing an increase in average selling price in the UK as an “excellent” performance.
Although Thomas Cook had yet to report as Travel Weekly went to press, the expectation was that it too would present a fairly positive picture to investors.
The upbeat reports from the big guns are certainly a useful barometer of the wider market. But latest data would suggest it’s not all plain sailing.
Industry analyst GfK suggested the market may have stalled after a strong start to the year.
So as delegates head to Dubai for the Advantage Conference, one of the main points of discussion will be how to maintain the momentum and ensure that 2014 lives up to its early potential.