Silver Travel Advisor’s Lisa McAuley argues there are reasons to be optimistic in an unpredictable world
New monarch, new government, new season… it’s time to talk about change. As John F Kennedy said back in 1963: “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
Change is often presented with negative connotations, often linked with decline, regression and weakness, but change can be a source of positivity and progress. So, what thoughts and hopes do I have for the future based on the past and present?
After the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the country has been thrust into the spotlight over the past few weeks. Whatever your views on the Royal Family, it’s hard not to be impressed at the spectacular scenes and the pomp and pageantry of the state funeral, which was watched by an estimated global audience of 4.1 billion people.
Some US friends who live in Atlanta watched the coverage from start to finish and told me they can’t wait to visit London again, setting their sights on a trip next summer. I imagine they’re not alone.
Stories of London hotels “profiteering” over the period of mourning were aplenty, and while I would never endorse such a thing, it seems the principles of supply and demand get pushed to one side and finger-pointing and criticising commence on such occasions. I certainly hope 2023 proves to be a bumper year for inbound tourism.
New government hopes
As far as the new government is concerned, this is a tricky one. I recall a headline in the Financial Times over the summer that read: “Business hopes for UK government action are at rock bottom.”
Eager to win hearts and minds, I hope the new leadership will at the very least bring a willingness to listen and to understand, and lay out an achievable action plan with key targets and milestones for travel and tourism.
It feels like a big ask given where we are now, but we have a responsibility as an industry to work in partnership with any new leadership to understand their pressure points and roadblocks and be realistic about the direction of travel.
As I write this, the government has just announced its plan to support businesses facing rising energy bills. There are further interest rate predictions and rumours of tax cuts, however, here and now it’s all speculation and it’s inevitable there will be winners and losers. To think we as an industry are top of a new government’s priority list would be foolish, so I’m managing expectations.
All we can do is worry about the things we can control and make the most of as many opportunities as we can.
And now we come to the new season. Firstly, wow, it’s cold (although I’m stubbornly not turning the heating on at home until November!) If ever there was a time to head to the sun, it’s now.
It’s time to start thinking about turn-of-year campaigns. It would be remiss of us to overlook the fact that the traditional peak booking period falls at a time when energy bills are likely to be at their highest and associated headlines about the cost-of-living crisis will be at their noisiest.
Planning is key
Are we hurtling towards a recession? Who knows. Have we been here before? Yes. I remember my first mortgage at a rate of 16%. We cut our cloth accordingly back then and many will look to do the same this time around, but that doesn’t mean people won’t want to go on holiday. Those in the industry who have a deep understanding of their customers will have the upper hand versus those who don’t.
Summer trading was better than most had hoped for and the softening in trading we’re seeing now will be short lived, although staffing challenges continue to blight the industry. As far as the future is concerned, I’ve learned not to speculate, but planning for various scenarios is as important as ever.
Change is not to be feared, and over time the more change you face, the more accomplished you become at handling it. Buckle up, try to enjoy the ride, and as the brilliant Maya Angelou famously said: “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”