56 the review
Travel Convention
The UK travel industry headed to the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana for ABTA’s 2014 Travel Convention. Julie Baxter reports
Hoseasons heads up market with Bouja
HOSEASONS will next year offer a range of luxury holiday park breaks under the new Bouja brand. Bouja top-end caravan breaks will be available at six countryside and coastal locations across Devon, Wales and Hampshire and accommodation will include hot tubs,
private decks, a patio or
private garden, flat-screen TVs and iPod docking stations. Top-quality towels, linens and mattresses will come as standard contemporary
along interiors, with outdoor
beanbags and games consoles. BBQs will be included where available, and all Bouja customers will receive a complimentary welcome pack. Bike hire, nature trails, and great quality bistros will all be offered nearby.
hoseasons.co.uk
Shifting trends hit travel Be data wise
DATA analytics expert, Matthew Tod, told The Convention: “Big data is a meaningless term, it doesn’t help. Park it and start talking about customer intelligence”. He said every travel business should have a clear digital strategy but
that this shouldn’t just be
about gathering data, it should be about using analytics technology to bring creative, intelligent ideas to build the business. He said: “The travel industry has a huge amount of useful personal data but you need to ask better questions,
join up the data you
have and find a story that explains this data, if
SHIFTS in consumer attitudes to spending and sharing are set to have a dramatic impact on the UK travel industry. Speaking at The Travel Convention,
ABTA Chairman, Noel Josephides, said: “I fear the rise in the sharing economy is just another name for the growth of the black economy presented in a clever way. Companies like airbnb and HouseTrip, currently
completely unregulated,
estimate that 15% of travel accommodation will soon be booked through them. As this happens, regulated travel businesses which pay tax and have to comply with umpteen regulations will
IN BRIEF
Trends: Accessible/inclusive options must increase – there will be 18 million over 60s in 10 years time. Airports will become destinations, not just a place to sit and wait. Hotel guests will be able to choose their room and open the door with their phones. Real time translation through Google glasses means we will be able to translate signs worldwide.
Spending up: ABTA’s Consumer
Holiday Trends Report 2014 has revealed that 20% of people anticipate spending more on holidays in 2015, compared to 15% who say they will spend less. There has, however, been a small decline in the number of Britons taking a holiday at all in the last 12 months.
abta.com
2015 Convention: Costa Navarino in
the Greek Peloponnese region will host The Travel Convention 2015 from October 12-14. State governor, Petros Tatoulis, said: “The UK is the most reliable market for our region so we are looking forward to welcoming the trade and showing them our region and our people.”
costanavarino.com
inevitably and unfairly be pushed out. Governments are sleep walking into their own destruction if they do not act on this development.”
On the plus side however, session
speaker James Wallman, author of Stuffocation a book predicting the death of materialism, said: “Being materialistic is now an insult. Instead of looking for what means most to us in material things, increasingly we will find them in experiences instead. The travel industry is uniquely placed to benefit from this shift to experientialism. Don’t wait, make it happen.”
Shearings invests
SHEARINGS plans to invest £15m in hotel refurbishment over the next three years, with over £5m planned for 2015. By the end of 2017 more than
half of the operator’s 4,000 UK hotel rooms will have been refurbished. The company will also upgrade its coach fleet, which has already had a £44m injection in the past five years. The company saw growth of 2% summer
this and its hotel
occupancy rates averaged 93%
shearings.com
you are to truly
understand what it is telling you. Don’t spend vast sums, just do data analysis little and often.”
SEPTEMBER 22-23
sellingtravel.co.uk
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