Comment: Don’t pull emergency cord!

As we learned before Christmas and have seen again this month, the scare stories around the impact of Brexit on the travel industry are just going to keep on coming.

Despite official statements to the contrary, fears have again been raised that a no-deal outcome will result in grounded planes at airports across the UK.

In addition, Abta was forced to question the reliability of research that claimed more than a thousand travel firms would be left on the brink, partly due to Brits deciding against heading to the continent.

Clearly, these stories are far from helpful for those trying to reassure their customers. But if the majority of the business sentiment and sales messages I heard at last week’s Globe Travel Awards are to be believed, it’s not time to pull the emergency cord just yet.

Plenty reported a sluggish start to the year and said they were having to work really hard to convert, but there were also plenty who said sales were up. Only a handful said they were really unhappy with January bookings.

One senior executive put it particularly succinctly. He said 2019 was unlikely to break any records, but the outlook was nowhere near as bleak as it was a decade ago at the height of the financial crisis.

Once again, the Travel Weekly Globe Travel Awards provided the perfect opportunity to forget about trading for an evening and focus on celebrating the best companies in the industry. You can relive the action in this week’s issue and next week’s bumper photo special.