Dame Irene Hays wants Budget to produce ‘certainty in economy’

Dame Irene Hays said the upcoming Budget has prompted “more press coverage and anxiety” than any she can recall, as she expressed hope for “some certainty back in the economy”.

 

Hays said older people are among those fearing they will be less well-off following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ announcement because of potential changes affecting pensions.

 

Noting the number of older people who book cruises, she added: “The more certainty we can have around the spending power of those people, the better it is for us for planning purposes.”

 

Asked what she would like to emerge from the Budget on November 26, she said: “A good result would be for the economy to settle down.”

 

More: Hays Travel aims to ‘smash’ peaks by launching ‘disruptive’ campaigns

 

She suggested media speculation about the possible contents of the Budget has caused people to be hesitant about their spending.

 

“This Budget has generated more press coverage and anxiety than any other Budget that I can remember,” she said, adding: “I’d like some certainty back in the economy, because at the moment it feels volatile and uncertain.”

 

However, she said she had drawn considerable optimism from the latest Barclays research on consumer card spending.

 

The data revealed spending with travel agents last month was 7.2% higher than in the same month last year, while the number of transactions grew by 28.5%.

 

“I thought they must have made a typo on 28.5%,” said Hays, calling the growth “phenomenal”.

 

She said more people have been turning to travel agents recently because of agents’ level of customer service as well as recognition that they represent expertise, trust and value for money.

 

“If something goes wrong, your travel agent will be there and the more nervous people are about their money, the more they want to know it’s safe,” she said.

 

She described this summer as “changeable” for Hays Travel, noting a trend for late bookings, but she said she was “pleasantly surprised” by the level of forward bookings for 2026 and 2027.

 

“We can say we are up [year on year] in terms of advanced bookings,” she said.