NEWS TRAVEL WEEKLY BUSINESS CONTINUED FROM THE BACK
Bowden-Doyle said it was
still too early to forecast how the eastern Mediterranean would fare this year. But he was optimistic: “I
cannot see any fundamental reason why Greece should not come back. It has just not accelerated at the pace you would expect. “Turkey? The truth is it’s
anyone’s guess at the moment.” With Spain and long-haul
said to be doing “phenomenally well” and Greece holding up, Turkey remains the big concern and was said to be 40% down. Julia Lo Bue-Said, Advantage managing director, said: “I’m pretty sure consumers are going to get more confident with Turkey and it will come back. People will go to Turkey. “Right now, everything feels
quite good for the consumer but we are going to run out of capacity in the areas they want at the price they want to pay. “It absolutely has to be the
right time to book right now. “The later you leave it this
year the more you are going to struggle to get what you want at the price you want.” Recalling his time working
for the big two, Bowden-Doyle said he still had a document from one that was circulated as a ‘set of rules’, essentially poking fun at the other. “One of the key points was
that operators overreact to everything. We are 18 days in to a new year and maybe some people have not got round to booking yet. “We have a terrible habit
of talking ourselves into doom-monger scenarios. “Has anyone seen any real
evidence that no one is going to Greece or Turkey? “Our biggest-selling property
to date is in Turkey; it just so happens the property we have
sold least of is also in Turkey.” › Comment, page 38
CIM TRAVEL GROUP QUESTION TIME: Report by Lee Hayhurst
Cruise: Norwegian urges sector to avoid discounting
Cruise is in danger of slipping back into the rampant discounting ways that saw a wave of commission cuts by operators five years ago.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Nick Wilkinson admitted agents are polarised between the discounters and those selling at higher prices based on customer service. “We are at the top of the [sales]
pyramid and it could go either way,” warned the line’s general manager for northern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “We are seeing travel partners
who are being very aggressive. “And we are seeing those that understand that with good service they can get the price they need to earn a living. We are really seeing a split in the marketplace.” Asked to comment on a seven-
night Mediterranean P&O Cruises deal for the equivalent of £400 per person when free onboard spend is taken into account, Wilkinson said: “I see the emails. I do not know how they do it. We
Crises: Industry ‘needs guidance to help destinations’
The travel industry needs advice about how it should support tourism in destinations following natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Panellists agreed it was very
hard to get the balance right between the urge to support the destination and looking like you are taking advantage of a dangerous or tragic situation. Advantage managing director Julia Lo Bue-Said said: “Take
110
travelweekly.co.uk 28 January 2016 Panellists: Wilkinson, Bowden-Doyle, Bue-Said and Williamson
will choose very carefully how we discount. If you look at our core products you will see what’s important is added value.” Challenged to explain how
throwing in complimentary extras isn’t another form of discounting, Wilkinson said: “If you just focus on the price point, the consumer is only going to move from price point to price point. “If you look at the added value,
they stop focusing on the price point and that gives you the
what happened in Tunisia. We all desperately want to bring tourism back in. But it feels wrong. How do you do it with empathy?” Tim Williamson, content and
marketing director at Responsible Travel, said despite the operator’s ethos it drew some criticism for promoting Nepal trips after the devastating earthquake last April. “We were running appeals, but
we also went out and said the best way to support Nepal is to book for the next trekking season,” he said. “Our view is tourism can be such
a force for good that the quicker you get it back the better. “Look at Paris: tourism is such a lifeline for a city like that.”
BUE-SAID: ‘We all want tourism back in Tunisia but it feels wrong’
scope to increase the base price.” Wilkinson said Norwegian had been doing this for 18 months and it had resulted in increased yields and revenue.
And he said Norwegian segments its product, so not all agents are competing on price for the same customer. “We will not have partner after partner advertising the same thing,” he said. “As an industry we cannot just keep cannibalising the same clients.”
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