Travel still offers light in trying times

The week-long pause in US threats to destroy Iran’s energy infrastructure brought some hopes of peace talks.

But with President Trump’s motives and strategy unclear and re‑escalation appearing likely as Travel Weekly went to press, nobody in the industry will be naive enough to think the war is behind us.

Despite the massive impact of the conflict on operations and trading, the start of the Easter getaway was mercifully free of negative headlines and significant disruption. And with companies including easyJet and sister operator easyJet holidays reporting record departures, it is clear a strong appetite for travel remains.

Since the first US and Israeli attacks on Iran more than a month ago, the trade has had to tread a line between repatriations and reassurance on one hand and positive marketing on the other.

The leisure travel industry is built on largely joyous and life-affirming experiences and, in the face of worries over global events and pressure on household budgets, those experiences will only become more treasured.

Last week I had the pleasure of hosting a round-table discussion featuring a host of industry leaders, and that message underpinned our conversation.

Marketing activity must always be carefully considered, but we shouldn’t be ashamed to celebrate a product which so often offers light in dark times.

Sadly, there is no doubt more conflict lies ahead. But as a speaker at the round-table neatly put it, as an industry we have to remind people “the world is most certainly not closed”.

Comment originally from Travel Weekly, April 2 edition