BOUT
ING
TUI Travel UK specialist
long-haul division
managing director
CLARE TOBIN
50% of its sales for Australia.
Tobin said: “I expect
revenue to increase by
changing the products and
moving to more value and
tailor-made product than
packages. Australia has
become a commoditised
product to sell.
“One of the biggest
issues is customer retention.
If you are selling only one
destination, it’s restrictive
and that’s why we want to
expand it.”
Other changes will be
to develop Travelmood’s
website, particularly for
straightforward fl ight
bookings. Tobin said:
“Very little is booked on the
internet for Travelmood.
There are products that
could be booked online
but customers are not
www.travelweekly.co.uk
“If you are
selling only one
destination, it’s
restrictive and
that’s why we
want to expand it”
confi dent enough about
booking their round-theworld
trip on the web.”
While the review is
focused on cost savings,
including the potential
loss of up to 26 jobs, for
Tobin, much of the strategy
is driven by a need to
capitalise on the business’s
strengths, namely its
staff and experience, by
changing the packaging –
how products are presented
and sold.
Shops will be expected
to take 40% of calls to
Travelmood, but Tobin said:
“Shops are brand drivers
and they do take calls, but
it’s not just about them; it’s
about the whole experience
with the call centre and the
people we have.”
Tobin hinted that
further savings could come
from renegotiating shop
leases as they near renewal.
“It’s a great time to
renegotiate – we are seeing
lots of opportunities in
alternative locations nearby
if rents are not acceptable,”
she added.
For more, go to
www.travolution.co.uk
Long haul
is the new
short haul
Long-haul holidays are
“the new short haul”
in terms of booking
lead-in times. TUI Travel
specialist long-haul
division managing
director Clare Tobin said
late sales were up but
with reduced lead-in
times. “We are up yearon-year
on all brands, but
we are seeing a change,
from people booking six
to 18 months in advance,
to four to six weeks.”
She added: “We have
had the luxury of being
able to look so far ahead,
but long haul has become
the new short haul.”
To boost winter
bookings, Hayes and
Jarvis has launched a
Going the Extra Mile
campaign, which focuses
on value off erings on
5,000 holidays if booked
by the end of September.
Meanwhile, Tobin said
the group would focus
on key relationships
with suppliers to boost
volumes and keep costs
down. She said the policy
had proved successful
with Hayes and Jarvis,
which dropped charter
fl ights to base its
holidays purely on
scheduled fl ights.
She warned: “It’s easy
to become a low-margin
business. We’ve got a
fl exible model now and
no risk in our business.”
She hinted the group
would review partnerships
in other brands. “It’s
about partnerships;
that comes to fruition
in times like this.”
INSIGHT
Reform will
clear up some
ATOL confusion
CAA’s view on DfT thinking is a reliable
guide to what lies ahead for industry
Ian Taylor
Executive editor
Will the saga that is
consumer fi nancial
protection ever reach a
conclusion? Possibly, up to a
point, but not soon and not to
the satisfaction of many.
Two small steps should
have been taken this week.
The Civil Aviation Authority’s
(CAA) case against Travel
Republic, alleging breach of
the ATOL Regulations, was
due to commence and could
help clarify some points.
And the CAA was poised
to release a summary of
responses to its consultation
on tripling the ATOL levy.
The former could take
time to resolve. The latter
will move quickly.
A CAA recommendation
will go to the Department for
Transport (DfT) this month
and secretary of state Lord
Adonis will make a decision
by September 1, with an
increase in levy from October
1. That is the eff ect of the £60
million cash crisis in the Air
Travel Trust fund.
ATOL reform will move at a
snail’s pace by comparison,
although the progress by
autumn 2011 – around the
time the CAA forecasts a
£3 levy will clear the fund’s
defi cit – could be signifi cant.
What might we expect?
The CAA’s view of the
DfT’s thinking should
be a reliable guide. CAA
consumer protection group
deputy director David Moesli
said: “The DfT is determined
to make protection clearer
for passengers. If it looks
like a holiday, it should be
fi nancially protected.” So the
rules on dynamic sales will
be tight.
“The government will put
consumers clearly above
other considerations.” Trade
concerns will be secondary.
“Consumers will expect
consistency. A two-tier
system is unlikely to be
acceptable.” A wider scheme
is inevitable, but not one
that diff erentiates between a
package – with the liabilities
that brings – and something
less onerous to retailers.
“The DfT is
determined to make
protection clearer
for passengers.
If it looks like a
holiday, it should
be fi nancially
protected”
The grey area that has
allowed companies to operate
outside, or unaware of the
ATOL regulations, will narrow.
Given the problems
highlighted by the failures of
Freedom Direct and Harvey
World Travel, that cannot
come soon enough.
But until it does, the
trade will continue to
scratch a collective head,
and consumers believe
every holiday is protected
until the moment they
discover otherwise.
More business commentary and market
intelligence from Ian Taylor, Juliet Dennis
and Kevin May on www.travolution.co.uk
July 3 2009 | Travel Weekly | 13
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