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Outlook more upbeat at ABTA Convention
Business confidence in travel industry has turned a corner in the last 12 months, according to the speakers and to the delegates themselves at this year’s Travel Convention.
Echoing the encouraging trends identified by ABTA’s latest Consumer Trends Survey, the mood was more upbeat in the conference sessions than in the past few years.
Speaking on the first day of the event, ABTA chairman Noel Josephides said there were "reasons to be cheerful looking forward to 2014".
He said the industry has become more robust and had enjoyed a very promising start to the New Year.
He also revealed that the collective turnover of ABTA members was now £31.5 billion, the highest ever.
"We should pat ourselves on the back," he said.
When moderator Daisy McAndrew asked for a show of hands among audience members, the majority of delegates said their business was now better than it was a year ago.
Only a handful of people said it was the same and one or two admitted it was worse.
Political commentator Iain Dale said consumer confidence had certainly improved in the last six months, but he warned that nobody should be complacent.
"It won’t take much to plunge people back into a state of pessimism," he said. "But as we sit here right now, things look a bit brighter than they did a year ago."
by Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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