UK: Industry leaders give their views regarding prospects for the summer
Saturday’s edition of The Times canvassed the views of four prominent travel industry members regarding the coming summer season – and the overriding sentiment was “wait and see”.
Keith Betton, head of corporate affairs at ABTA, led the way: “A recent survey found that only six per cent of people are unwilling to go abroad this year because of the war. After the last Gulf War bookings dropped by four per cent, so it looks as if a similar pattern is emerging. I think we can expect bookings to pick up after a war is over.”
Noel Josephides, of the Greek specialist Sunvil, said: “If a large holiday firm collapses because no-one is spending money, it will tighten the market because there will be few deals around this summer. At the moment, travel firms are waiting to see what happens.”
Sue Biggs, of Kuoni, pointed out that the picture is very different in different countries: “Bookings have dropped by about 15 per cent in the past three weeks, with Egypt and Dubai most affected. Countries with sales that are holding up include Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Mauritius and South Africa. Overall there are great bargains and there are fewer crowds. Many people are, for example, asking to go to Egypt because they know the sights will be less busy.”
