There is no room for complacency but customer demand is holding up, says Travel Weekly’s Lucy Huxley
The prevailing mood in the industry this week remained upbeat despite a host of challenges.
Pre-pandemic, any one of soaring inflation, oil price rises, cost-of-living increases, a conflict in Europe and front-page coverage of travel disruption would have caused even the most optimistic to pause for thought.
Yet as consumers begin to embrace something akin to normality, it seems this perfect storm is still yet to have a significant impact on short-term demand and sales.
There is never room for complacency, of course, and certainly no chance to take the situation for granted with the outlook still uncertain and constant pressure to deal with complex red tape and rapidly evolving situations including delays and cancellations.
But with customers still willing to travel and many reporting much smoother experiences than national media coverage would suggest, there is plenty to give the trade encouragement as the Easter weekend approaches.
The outlook for the industry and the future of retail in particular will be discussed in-depth at our Future of Travel Spring Forum on May 12, and you can register your interest in attending free of charge at travelweekly.co.uk/springforum22.
I would also urge all agents and managers to enter and nominate for the Agent Achievement Awards, with the deadline just two weeks away on April 27.
The entry process has been streamlined to save you time, and you can find out how to put yourselves or your colleagues forward for the recognition you so thoroughly deserve at agentachievementawards.co.uk.