Comment: Signs point to another strong year

I didn’t have the opportunity to watch much television over the festive period, but nevertheless I was struck by the number of times I heard a travel advert playing as I passed by a screen or tablet.

Looking back 12 months, a sense of trepidation remained about whether the peak selling period would deliver as it had done prior to the pandemic. But as we head into 2024, there is a bullishness that last year’s strong early sales can be matched, if not bettered, in the coming months (page 5).

As always, caution is the watchword, with an awareness of how quickly global events can swing consumer sentiment.

But despite some coverage of weather and strike-related disruption over Christmas and New Year, the headlines were largely free of the types of stories likely to dent clients’ desire to secure their escapes to the sun.

As I have written before, a focus on margin will be more crucial than ever this year, with the biggest Atol holders piling on capacity and the cruise sector also gearing up to welcome more ships. And for those selling products available around the world, an early-booking call-to-action will be leant more weight by pressure on prices and availability from growing demand in other markets.

The Travel Weekly team and I are currently putting the final touches together for next week’s Globe Travel Awards. With the room a sell-out, it is set to be a fitting fanfare for what we hope will be another strong year. We wish you all a happy and prosperous 2024.