NEWS 4


Amie Keeley amie.keeley@travelweekly.co.uk


The Zika virus is having “minimal” impact on travel to the Caribbean and South America, the trade has reported.


On the whole, agents and


operators said they had seen a small number of cancellations and no noticeable drop in bookings since the outbreak of the disease, which was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation last week. Abta is continuing to advise


pregnant women and those planning to become pregnant to consult their GP if they are due to travel to affected countries. But it stated: “Members are reporting that the number of UK travellers who have cancelled trips as a result of the Zika virus is minimal.” A spokeswoman from


honeymoon specialist Kuoni said: “We’ve moved a handful of customers to different destinations, mostly those who are pregnant or planning to be. But bookings have not dropped and the phones are not going nuts.” She said there were a lot of


The virus has been reported in 30 countries


YOU NEED TO KNOW 5


Zika ‘has had minimal impact’


Caribbean islands not affected, adding: “We need to keep it in perspective. If it spreads it would be a concern, but at the moment it’s manageable.”


Caribbean couples-only resort specialist Sandals said it too had seen very little impact on bookings, while adventure tour operator Intrepid Travel said it had seen a “slight decline” in new bookings to the Americas but had not received any requests to cancel or amend trips. But a small number of agents


on social media claimed they had lost “thousands of pounds” worth of cruise bookings due to Zika- related cancellations, while Elite Travel Group chief executive Neil Basnett said one couple booked to go to Costa Rica wanted to cancel but were set to lose £8,000. The mosquito-borne illness has


been reported in 30 countries. The Association of British


Insurers said it was too early to reveal the number of claims made for trips cancelled due to Zika, but said most policies would cover costs provided they had a medical note advising them not to travel and the holiday was purchased before the advice changed.


UPDATE ZIKA Seamus Conlon


Cruise.co.uk in £20k pay pledge


Lucy Huxley lucy.huxley@travelweekly.co.uk


Online agent Cruise.co.uk has increased salaries to offer its homeworkers a minimum of £20,000 plus benefits as it looks to grow its UK business.


The move comes as the OTA confirmed it is also seeking a new private equity investor to expand further internationally. Managing director Seamus


Conlon said the ‘salary guarantee’ had been introduced to entice more homeworkers to join the OTA. In addition to the salary, the agency offers a pension and paid holiday, and supplies all sales leads. Cruise.co.uk has just taken on 10 new members of staff, who begin training this month, and aims to recruit 10 more homeworkers by the end of the month. “The focus for the UK business is


expansion,” Conlon said. “We would have grown the business further last year had we had more staff.” Cruise.co.uk revealed earlier


this week it was seeking new private equity investment to drive the UK business and fuel further international expansion. The OTA received backing from


6 travelweekly.co.uk 11 February 2016


“We would have grown the business further last year had we had more staff”


Risk Capital Partners in 2013 and said its sales have since grown by 67%. Conlon said the agency was now seeking another private


equity investment. Reports in the Telegraph suggested a deal was being mooted worth £50 million. “It’s our intention during


2016 to look for a larger private equity fund to further accelerate our international strategy and acquisitions,” he added. “I see this process completing in the second half of this year.” The agency has already acquired businesses in Ireland (Travel Bookers) and Australia (Cruising Down Under), and has set up a new office in South Africa. It is now looking to set up in New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, Scandinavia and Canada. In 2015, the Cruise.co.uk


website had 17.5 million views, up


100% year on year. › Cruise.co.uk conference report, page 10


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