Travel Weekly’s Lucy Huxley looks ahead to what the trade hopes will be a prosperous year
The trade breathed a sigh of relief over the festive period as Border Force strikes at several major airports failed to result in significant disruption. Yet with industrial action set to be a hallmark of 2023, and unions looking to ensure future walkouts are more impactful, nobody will be resting on their laurels.
As we reported in the run-up to Christmas, contingency measures put in place by the aviation sector and government meant we were unlikely to see a full repeat of the “travel chaos” headlines of last summer.
But any negative publicity would have been an unwelcome counterpoint to the traditional turn-of-year advertising campaigns – which I’m delighted included two, from Hays Travel and Icelolly.com, created with the support of Travel Weekly and ITV’s Backing Business marketing fund.
It is too early to judge how this year’s peaks season will pan out, but early sales reports show there is cause for cautious optimism as travel firms’ investment in marketing ensures holidays remain front-of-mind (page 10). There was also reason for cheer in research issued by KPMG over Christmas which suggested travel remains the non-essential item those with savings are most willing to dip into their reserves to fund. The key will be turning intent into action over the coming months while maintaining the margins essential for the sector’s recovery.
Despite a reminder of recent winters in the return of testing for China’s reopening, new year holiday planning finally feels more of a norm than a novelty. Here’s to those plans becoming bookings and a prosperous new year.
Comment from Travel Weekly, January 5 edition