Some 25% of UK operators are selling at a loss, according to industry analysts Plimsoll Publishing.
In a report updating its startling June analysis that revealed tour operators could be forced to shed 8000 jobs over the next 12 months, the company says of the 1000 companies it has just studied again, almost half (47%) are making less profit than last year , 31% of them are in more debt than they were a year ago and 210 of them rate as “high risk of failureâ€.
Plimsoll says that because there is market growth at 4% (down from 6% last year), directors are not looking at the overall picture.
Senior analyst on the project David Pattison said: “The reality is, sales teams are very rarely privy to the full picture. All too often, they are unaware of the costs of overheads, the levels of debt and how their sales add up in profitability. The latest figures do seem to suggest that the focus has switched from profit to sales, as companies grab business almost at any cost! The old adage has never been more apt, ‘sales for vanity- profit is sanity.â€
By Dinah Hatch
