Miles Morgan remains confident it will be a record 2023 despite a number of questions yet to be answered
Well, well, well. In my previous Travel Weekly comment, I shared my high hopes and expectations for January, but even my glass-half-full view of life could not have predicted just how bumper the month would prove to be.
At Miles Morgan Travel we reported the best day of bookings and the best week of bookings in our 16-year history, which combined to make it our best-ever month too. It has been a brilliant start to 2023, but what makes it even better is the fact our performance has been mirrored by many other travel agents, holiday companies and airlines across the sector.
I am convinced our industry was hit harder than any other during Covid, so to get these kinds of results is so well deserved for every one of us long-suffering travel people.
We spent months feeling completely knackered and beaten up, so what a pleasure it is to be feeling knackered but buzzing again. There is no better feeling for a travel agent; it’s what we love so much about this job.
After a fantastic start to the year we now look forward to the rest of 2023, with several questions still to be answered. Will the cost-of-living crisis bite? Will demand start to wane? And have we simply brought forward customers’ bookings to earlier in the year?
Cherished purchase
The mainstream media have failed to talk the public into cutting their spending due to cost-of-living increases. In fact, things appear to be quietly settling down again and I’m optimistic that this current demand won’t ease off. After all, when you gain momentum like the momentum we’re all enjoying right now, generally it continues. The public have shown that despite a big rise in prices, they will not forgo their valued holidays.
During Covid, our customers bought their new cars, fitted their new kitchens and laid their new patios while travel was impossible or, at best, very challenging. Now we are seeing holidays reclaim their place as the most essential and cherished expenditure for many in this country, in addition to those who are visiting friends and relatives around the world after not being able to for years. For me, prospects for 2023 look excellent; I said in my last piece that we are planning for a record year and that hasn’t changed. In fact, I am even more confident.
No excuses
So what could derail us? Last summer’s shambles at many UK airports and with selected airlines certainly caused potential travellers to think harder before booking. It was not good at all. I have to say, should this happen again, senior managers of any companies involved should fall on their swords.
For me, Covid has not been a valid excuse for such managers for a long time now; bookings did return quicker than anyone expected but the job of competent management is to crystal ball-gaze and be ready.
I think these events revealed to all which companies were truly “on it” and those which were poorly run.
This year should run smoothly for everyone and there should be no excuses this time around.
The other thing to keep an eye on for summer 2023 is pricing and stock availability.
With many airlines, cruise lines and operators reporting record early load factors, this should mean prices increase as we approach summer. This sparks two thoughts: it should encourage early booking for 2024, which would be great news for everyone, but also what will the OTAs sell? They thrive in a poor load factor environment with many distressed seats sold on the cheap. Surely easyJet, Tui and Jet2 will price their flight-only sky-high this summer, ensuring they sell most of them as package holidays and making greater profits in return. This would be less good for the OTAs, so maybe not everyone will have a record year, after all.
It feels lovely to write such an upbeat piece for a change on the back of great short-term results and a positive outlook. Let’s hope 2023 turns out to be the year travel returns in full and the year we all finally get our mojo back.