NEWS
Contents
07.11.2008
NEWS
Insight 10
World Travel Market 22
PROFILE 28
OPINION
Wayne Darrock 31
LETTERS 33
MAUREEN 34
WEEK IN PICS 36
MYSTERY SHOPPER 42
DESTINATIONS
Weddings and
honeymoons 57
India 66
Public relations 72
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2 | Travel Weekly | November 7 2008
Agents see rise
in cancellations
Exclusive Winter breaks put on ice as money woes take hold
Chloe Berman
chloe.berman@rbi.co.uk
Cancellation rates on winter
holidays have shot up in the past
few weeks as customers come
under pressure from money
worries and job insecurity.
Agents have reported clients
returning to cancel their winter
breaks, with many willing to
lose their deposit to avoid shelling
out the full price.
Advantage commercial
director Julia Lo Bue-Said said
the average cancellation rate
had at least doubled from its
usual average of 2%-4% in the
last few weeks.
She said: “Advantage members
are starting to get enquiries
from customers about how
much they would lose if they
cancel. Those who have paid a
low deposit won’t think twice
and even people who have paid
more are considering losing
the money.”
Agent group rallies to fi ll XL gap
An emergency delegation from
the southwest is attending
World Travel Market in London
next week in a bid to increase
the number of fl ights from
Bristol airport to replace those
lost when XL Lesiure Group
collapsed.
South West Independent
Federation of Travel Agents
head of marketing Anthony
“Even people who
have paid more are
considering losing
the money”
Gill Hartigan, consultant
for Howard Travel in Trowbridge,
Wiltshire said customers
were increasingly cautious
about their spending. “We
have had one or two cancelling
for this year because they are
not sure if their job is going to
be secure.”
Some cruiselines are
responding by relaxing their
Goord and Bristol airport
head of commercial aviation
and route development Shaun
Browne and head of sales Jason
Wescott have arranged meetings
with tour operators, agents
and airlines at the show.
They are hoping to persuade
the industry to introduce new
routes from the airport after it
lost around 200,000 passengers
cancellation policies. Crystal
Cruises is letting customers
cancel without penalty up to 45
days from sailing instead of 75
days for next autumn.
Luxury cruise operator
SeaDream Yacht Club is also
allowing customers to change
or defer their plans up to 48
hours before departure.
The nervousness in the
market is refl ected by the number
of agencies that have ceased
trading in the past few months,
with Flight Masters in Bolton
and Canvey Travel in Essex the
latest casualties.
A total of 20 ABTA members
have ceased trading so far this
year – more than the whole of
last year, when 15 closed down.
Meanwhile, fi gures obtained
by the TWgroup revealed the
total market share of visits to
the top 10 travel agency websites
dropped 17% in the year to
October 2008 and searches for
‘cheap holidays’ dropped 30%.
a year, many of whom would
have booked with niche operators,
following XL’s collapse.
Goord said: “A lot of smaller
independent tour operators
were using seats on XL fl ights
and XL’s demise has now
taken a lot of fl ying options
away from us. We need to have
independent operators to support
and we’re struggling.”
High hopes president-
Obam
Ian Taylor
ian.taylor@rbi.co.uk
Barack Obama’s election as
US president has electrifi ed
the world, bringing hope
his victory will transform
America’s image and bring
benefi ts to travel.
Federation of Tour Operators
director-general Andy
Cooper said: “Making people
feel good has to help. If it
makes America slightly less
hated around the world there
are less likely to be terrorist
attacks.”
But he added: “Obama
appears to be quite protectionist,
although he has not
said a great deal about issues
that affect travel.”
Sunvil Holidays managing
director Noel Josephides
warned: “We should expect
Instead, he said, many
southwest agents are forced to
turn to the Thomas Cook Group
and TUI Travel, which each
have two aircraft based at
Bristol airport in the summer
and one apiece in the winter,
the only charter aircraft now
based there.
Goord added: “It really gives
us a lack of choice.”
www.travelweekly.co.uk
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