NEWS SPECIAL REPORT


Caption ghgreherghh gerh gerh greh grh gerh gerhge


for European tours and reporting a “surge in bookings” for the US. Newmarket Holidays chief


commercial officer David Sharman said the conflict had fallen in a relatively quiet travel period for the operator, with marketing efforts for future sales switching to European destinations such as Portugal, Spain and Italy in addition to long-haul destinations including South Africa. Sharman said short-term


trading was a “challenge” after a strong start to the year but added: “Forward bookings are doing well.” He said: “Retailers should give


themselves a pat on the back for how they’ve handled everything.”


Cruise outlook Cruise specialists said booking momentum remained strong, with some compelling deals from lines reliant on non-UK source markets where consumers were more reticent to travel. However, they also


highlighted challenges with air availability and pricing, including connectivity with departures in Asia and the Middle East. Nick Watts, commercial


and trading manager at Cruise. co.uk, said: “We’ve changed our


travelweekly.co.uk


Retailers should give


themselves a pat on the back for how they’ve handled everything


marketing to include a ‘book with confidence’ message. People still want to book. In terms of destinations that have become hot, we’ve seen a lot of people moving from Asia and Australia to North America and the Caribbean. “Incidents like this also bring


opportunity and we are seeing a couple of cruise lines, with stock to clear because other markets aren’t travelling, offering cheap late deals. But getting flights to connect with these sailings is tricky.” Norwegian Cruise Line regional


vice-president Gary Anslow said: “We don’t have a Middle East programme but we do have ships at the end of their seasons in Singapore and Australia. The challenge has been getting guests to these ships as they would traditionally route through the Middle East. “The focus has been on rerouting


guests and on [maintaining] guest experience. The trade has


shown an enormous amount of adaptability – and at pace.” Robbie White, head of


commercial and cruise at Touchdown Travel Services, said: “Our client base is agents and they are some of the most resilient customers you could have. We haven’t really seen a dip in sales in the last few weeks and we can help partners fill some of their softer sailings or weeks in resorts.” Silversea UK, Ireland and


EMEA sales director Connie Georgiou said the conflict was the latest challenge the industry had had to contend with, but said: “We can’t let this stop what we do. People love going on holiday.” SJ Walker, UK sales director


at Virgin Voyages, said the line’s deployment in the Caribbean, Latin America, Alaska and the Mediterranean meant it had seen limited impact from the conflict and strong sales in March. However, she said its sales team


had recognised the need to support agent partners, adding: “We’ve tried to act sensitively as we know how hard agents are working through all this, and we’ve had a high- touch strategy in place to support them through this tough time.”


Ski demand Operators and agents specialising in winter sports holidays reported a mixed sales picture. Simon McIntyre, managing


director of Iglu Ski, said: “We’ve actually been up for the last two weeks. Demographically, we are finding that many people who might have been booked to go to the UAE are also skiers.” However, Richard Sinclair, chief


executive of Sno Group, said the lates market was “mediocre” despite good snow conditions and an early Easter. Inghams managing director John


Mansell said sales were ahead of targets but added: “We’ve definitely seen customers stop and stand still because of the uncertainty.” Mansell said the operator had


seen limited operational impact as its focus is on Europe and Canada and forward bookings were “going great guns” despite the short-term slowdown. Sinclair also reported customers


booking ahead for 2026-27, and iSki managing director Adrian Russell added: “I would agree that forward bookings for next season are strong. Operators have come out sooner this year, so the opportunity to book earlier is there.”


2 APRIL 2026 13


PICTURES: Shutterstock/Julia Mountain Photo, Wirestock Creators, PeopleImages, kudla


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52