Family market still challenging for Advantage members, says chief executive

Advantage Travel Partnership members are continuing to find the family market “a challenge” amid an ongoing late-booking trend, according to the consortium’s chief executive. 

Julia Lo Bue-Said told a Travel Weekly webcast that family bookings for the summer holiday period are still proving “much slower” than in previous years.

“People continue to book later. We’re continuing to see that,” she said.

 

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She advised agents to continue presenting themselves as the experts in being able to arrange family holidays.

“Highlight some of those offers out there, because there are some incredible offers,” she said.

She cited the cruise sector as an area that is performing particularly well at the moment and said agents have an “array of choice” when identifying the best trips for their clients.

 

Outlining the general mood among Advantage members, she said agents are “upbeat” but business owners continue to face “really worrying” issues.

 

Pointing to the importance of effective lobbying, she said: “What I want us to be able to do as an industry is articulate the margin pressures, the cost pressures and the business rate issues.”

 

She added the sector needs to be “ballsier” in its approach to the task.

 

“We’ve got to be a bit braver, and just come out and be really honest about what the pressures are,” she said.

 

“We need to make sure we’re an industry that’s heard, an industry that’s seen, and vocalise the pressures we’re under.

 

“We need to make sure we’re engaging with government, but also other parties as well.”

 

She encouraged agencies to ensure they are following the new guidance on how prices should be displayed to customers, adding that Abta has “done a phenomenal job” in offering advice.

 

“Just make sure you’re following the rules and you don’t get caught out because obviously nobody wants to be made an example of,” she said.

 

Asked about youth unemployment in the UK, which has reached 16.1%, its highest rate in more than 10 years, Lo Bue-Said said many agencies are finding it difficult to take on young people because of the rate of the minimum wage.

 

“It’s much more expensive now to employ young people in business. That’s the reality and that’s the issue that a lot of industries are facing,” she said.

 

She added that the travel sector must continue attracting young people by showcasing its strengths, while also nurturing those who are already employed.

 

“We’re fighting for talent against every other industry, so let’s showcase what this industry can achieve,” she said.