Comment: Travel Convention offers short, sharp reality check

The theme for The Travel Convention was Opportunity Knocks – how to adapt to the changing business dynamics and consumer behaviour in a post-recession world.

But the main message in Barcelona was a short, sharp, reality check. “Flat is the new growth in the present climate,” said Shearings Group chief executive Denis Wormwell, speaking at the e-tid agents' breakfast briefing.

His comments drew a chuckle from the audience, but the fact is things will not go back to the way they used to be.

Yes, 2009 has been a roller coaster year, and businesses have worked hard to survive the ups and downs. But to believe the path through 2010 will be smoother is, in the words of Hoseasons chief executive Richard Carrick, “at best naive, and at worst unsubstantiated”.

However, it is not just next year's sales figures that we need to worry about; the way we do business has to change. ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer told delegates the industry faced “profound structural changes if we're to continue to provide tourism on a scale and scope that we're used tothe sustainability of our industry is at stake”.

Which is why we need to get behind the vision and strategy of Tourism 2023 and work together as an industry to tackle the tough challenges ahead.

We must take sustain-ability and climate change seriously, urged TUI Travel's Dermot Blastland in an exclusive interview with Travel Weekly. Do your bit, no matter how small, he said.

Dermot's message wasn't just for ABTA convention delegates; it's for all of us in the travel industry. Respond to Dermot's challenge. Hand on heart, ask yourselves: what are you doing?