EDITOR’S COMMENTS
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Cover photo: (from left) John Cooper, Liverpool Cruise Club; Richard Fain, chairman and chief executive, Royal Caribbean Cruises; Sharon Fleming, Thompson Travel International; Janet Whittingham, Travel Counsellors; and Andrew Gardner,
Cruise.co.uk, at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany
LUCY
HUXLEY Editor-in-chief
Weak lates market suggests sales shift
market? Data up to the end of July confirm what Travel Weekly has been reporting for some time, that this is one of the toughest markets anyone has seen for many a year (page 5). Despite hopes for a post-World Cup ‘Brazil bounce’, it simply did not materialise. Old assumptions about what drives consumer behaviour are being tested. And yet roll back to January and the outlook seemed to be so much more positive, even if you account for the usual overoptimistic claims made during peak trading. Unfortunately, it seems misplaced optimism prompted some players to pile on capacity and this has led to recent unspectacular trading updates from some of the big names in the industry. This pattern – a strong start to trading in January that later peters out – has been seen now for several years. It raises the prospect that there’s been a fundamental shift in booking patterns and behaviour. Indeed, GfK reports that bookings for next summer are strong, so it might be assumed the trend is likely to continue next year. Has the fall in real wage levels had an impact on a market that is susceptible to consumers’ disposable income? Government figures last year suggested departures from the UK for holidays were up, so has the lates business shifted elsewhere, or has the market flattened again? What seems clear is that expectations of a strong lates might be wishful thinking.
T
lucy.huxley@
travelweekly.co.uk WHAT LUCY DID THISWEEK 1
2 3
Visited Papenburg for a tour of Royal Caribbean’s new ship Quantum of the Seas (and saw Anthem too!)
Joined Francis Riley and Nick Wilkinson from Norwegian at a restaurant for a company update
Was delighted my kids paid a visit to Travel Weekly – and watched Mummy do the ice bucket challenge!
28 August 2014 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 3
he latest booking figures from GfK raise an interesting question for the trade: what has happened to the lates
CONTENTS Inside your number one industry mag!
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