The TravelMole Interview: Russell Amerasekera, TV presenter and former Thomson director

Monday, 23 Dec, 2002 0

Television presenter and former Thomson director Russell Amerasekera has accused the industry of burying its head in the sand over the threat in the Gulf.

And he has predicted a tough 2003 for the industry with MyTravel, another of his former employees, being taken over.

Amerasekera, 40, has held senior positions at Thomas Cook, MyTravel when it was called Airtours and Thomson Holidays, where he was a board director. He is now a main presenter on the popular television programme “Wish You Were Here” and a regular contributor to GMTV, so is ideally placed to make observations on the industry.

“I believe the industry is burying its head in the sand on the potential impact of the Gulf War,” he said.

“I’ve talked to very senior executives and it is almost as though no-one wants to think about war and there is no tangible strategy to cope with it.”

Amerasekera concedes that it is difficult to plan for a downturn in bookings, but said companies must start thinking about how they can cut their costs if the worst happens.

“The best run companies are those which have contingency plans and have thought about how to manage their internal costs and stimulate the market for their own products in very difficult circumstances,” he said.

“There is an inevitability that in a war situation you have to downsize.”

Amerasekera said 2003 would be a difficult year, but expected companies to be sensible with their capacity planning.

“But I believe Thomson, First Choice and Thomas Cook will all make reasonable profits if they are sensible.”

However, he predicts financially stricken MyTravel, which has seen its share price plummet after several profit warnings, will be taken over, despite its huge debts.

“With MyTravel, you’re starting to see a pattern emerge which is similar to the one we saw before the Thomson sale to Preussag,” said Ameraskera.

“After the recent fall-out, we are likely to see some improved results, a new management team and a balanced recovery strategy.

“As soon as someone sees it is on the road to recovery, it will be a very opportune time to come in and make a bid. This is exactly what happened with Thomson.

“If someone comes and puts £750m on the table I think the banks and shareholders will grab their hands off. And to buy a business at that sort of price when it has an asset value of close to £1 billion would be an absolute steal.”