Industry will withstand terrorist attacks

Isolated incidents of terrorism will not impact the travel industry, according to a recent survey of industry professionals. The survey was carried out by online agents Opodo. Chief executive David Scowsill told TravelMole: “2003 was such a bad year that everyone is more optimistic for 2004. “Despite security issues, the general feeling is that these isolated terrorist incidents like Madrid and Bali won’t have a negative impact on travel this year. “There is no indication that these incidents will dampen demand”, he said. This could be due to confidence from travellers in improved air safety procedures. According to the report, 67% of travel industry respondents agree with the introduction of biometric passport rules, and 58% agreed with the introduction of sky marshals on planes. Half of all respondents (50%) said they thought the new security measures would mean safer travel for passengers. But there were also concerns from the respondents that increased security could have a negative effect. A third of respondents thought check-in time could double to four hours, and a third also thought that the cost of security would be passed on to passengers in the form of rising ticket prices. Another 20% believed specific countries employing these measures first will see a drop in the number of holidaymakers. The report, carried out last month, questioned 230 travel industry representatives including operators, agents, airlines and journalists. Report by Ginny McGrath