Thomas Cook boss Harriet Green notably said travel companies should spend less time blaming external factors for poor performance – her logic being that you have to play the hand you’re dealt.
But you could forgive many in the industry for occasionally feeling like they’re being given a rough ride – with a procession of metaphorical speed bumps being thrown in their path.
This week the Supreme Court rejected Thomson and Jet2. com’s appeals against compensation claims, which will have a knock-on effect on the perception of the industry at large.
And the decision by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office to update its guidance for global travel to reflect a “generalised threat” to Britons will hardly have encouraged people to rush out and book their next holiday.
As I said in this column just a few weeks ago when discussing the Ebola crisis, the travel industry is well-used to dealing with scares, and has always taken a measured and sensible approach to coping with them.
But there’s no doubt that we all have a job to do to ensure that consumer and social media coverage of stories such as these doesn’t override the feeling of security and positivity that have allowed many firms to sound a note of cautious optimism over the past year.
Spending some time at World Travel Market certainly helped to maintain a balanced outlook. Our industry faces challenges, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the passion, commitment and colour that make it so special, and the power for good it can be.