Anything the trade can book to depart in the next few weeks will be critical to cashflow ahead of another tough period, says Travel Weekly editor-in-chief Lucy Huxley
Having just spent a lovely – but wet and windy – weekend in the Yorkshire Dales, I can see why agents are reporting something of a race by clients to get some sunshine before the end of the holidays.
There’s no doubt this short-term spike in demand before the next traffic light review will give a much-needed fillip to the sector and its financial position, albeit nowhere near enough. Anything the trade can book to depart in the next few weeks before English schools go back will be critical to cashflow ahead of what is undoubtedly going to be another tough period.
News from Abta of just a 2% drop in subscription renewals shows how resilient members are, but unless government extends furlough for the sector we are likely to see more job losses in the coming weeks.
On the flip side, we will also see a greater return to some sense of normality this autumn with the reintroduction of live events. At Travel Weekly, we have already announced that our Agent Achievement Awards will be back on September 16, while the day before, we’ll be staging our one‑day Future of Travel conference, in association with Google, bringing together a host of amazing speakers including the bosses of Jet2holidays, Tui UK, easyJet holidays, Saga Travel, Virgin Atlantic and Travel Counsellors.
We are also proud to have been named media partner once more for Abta’s Travel Convention, which will be back as a hybrid live/virtual event on October 13.
As Miles Morgan said on a recent webcast, “put your positive pants on” and pull out all the stops to sell whatever you can to capitalise on the remaining sales opportunities this summer.
Comment from Travel Weekly, August 12 edition, read online here