Hays Travel will be ‘back in profit’ this year, according to co-founder Dame Irene Hays.
Speaking on a Barclays webcast called ‘Travel sector – the new world order’, Hays admitted she had not anticipated the company to be profitable so quickly after a tough start to its financial year in May.
She said she was “really excited” about the company’s prospects for the next two to three years and insisted high-street retail shops would continue to be “part of the customer journey”.
“Our financial year started on May 1 and the first two months were tough …[but] we will be back in profit this year,” she said, adding: “I never thought that would be the case.”
Hays described current trading in retail as “booming” and said sales were already ahead of expectations.
She said: “We have seen a significant bounce back for the retail market. We put in our forecast that [we would be doing] 70% of what were doing in 2019, for Hays and Thomas Cook. We are exceeding that significantly now.
“People are definitely spending more on their holidays and definitely wanting to do long-haul, bucket list holidays. We are pivoting our offer to provide for that.”
She added the group’s cruise sales were now flat relative to 2019 thanks to staycation cruises and health and safety protocols implemented by cruise operators.
The independent travel agency group was enjoying much higher levels of new customers than prior to the pandemic, with current figures showing 51% of clients were new in comparison with around 19% pre-Covid, she said.
Hays, who called the numbers “one of the most surprising outcomes of the pandemic”, attributed this to the fact the company had kept its stores open virtually throughout the pandemic and because consumers who had previously booked direct or online now wanted to “come in and speak to someone personally”.
Hays said: “We still see a significant future [for shops]. We see our retail stores as part of the wider retail journey. We see that desire for reassurance coming to the fore.”
Retail business accounts for 65% of total volumes, she said, but Hays stressed she was “most excited” about the future integration of the social media, digital and traditional high street models.
“Over 70% of customers will research online and then come into retail to book,” she added.