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Agents temper demand with caution Juliet Dennis


Travel agents remain upbeat about forward sales but are urging caution among clients until there is more certainty on travel dates. Retailers have enjoyed significant


increases in calls and sales since last week’s government roadmap. The UK’s largest agency, Hays


Travel, drafted in 200 extra staff to deal with a 347% rise in enquiries. Demand appears to have pushed


prices up, with owner Irene Hays reporting that the price of an average family holiday had risen by £214. But a YouGov poll of 5,000 UK


adults on February 25 – three days after the roadmap announcement – suggested the reported hike in


interest had yet to translate into bookings. It found no increase in the proportion of UK adults who had booked an overseas holiday in the prior fortnight, but did find more had booked UK breaks. Agents said they were cautious


about telling clients overseas travel would restart on May 17, echoing comments by deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam on Monday that there remained “great uncertainty” about overseas summer holidays. Miles Morgan Travel had its best


week since March 2020 last week but is advising clients to book autumn departures rather than summer until there is clarity on testing. “There are more unknowns than knowns about


Byrne credits PM’s roadmap for lifting client confidence


Lucy Huxley


Customers are more confident booking higher-value holidays for later in the year as uncertainty remains about travel’s restart, says Travel Counsellors’ chief executive. Speaking on a Travel Weekly


webcast last week, Steve Byrne reported an initial spike in demand focused on July, August and September, with duration and party size increasing the further out customers booked. He said consumers’ appetite


to book was “pushed back” by the second national lockdown


6 4 MARCH 2021


from early January but noted a “direct relationship” between the government’s more positive recent tone and customer confidence. Byrne said: “If you look at what was


going on pre-Christmas, compared to what’s happened post-Christmas, a much smaller number of people were prepared to book for this summer and an increasing proportion booked for later on in the year or next year.” He believes the government has


“bought itself some time” to see how the vaccination programme rollout goes, look at the health data and work on a form of travel pass based on “either vaccination or testing”.


I’m cautiously


optimistic but we don’t want to have to cancel and refund bookings again


summer,” said chairman Miles Morgan. Mark Johnson, director of Polka


Dot Travel, which has brought staff off furlough to handle increased calls and cancellations up to May 16, said: “I’m cautiously optimistic but we don’t want to have to cancel and refund again. We’re saying to clients [May 17] might be too early to book. The majority of business is from mid- July. We’re not out of the woods yet.”


Derek Moore, deputy chairman


of The Specialist Travel Association (Aito), said operators’ flexibility on cancellations was encouraging sales. “Operators are upbeat,” he added. Henbury Travel is not taking


bookings for trips departing before June 15. Owner Richard Slater said: “If holidays get cancelled, it’s my reputation on the line.” Deben Travel owner Lee Hunt


said clients were “holding off” once it was explained there was no detail yet on travel requirements. Jo Richards, owner of Tivoli Travel, said she was considering asking clients to sign an “explainer” form to show they understood destinations’ requirements


to avert a “backlash down the line”. i Get Social, page 17


Steve Byrne


He said destinations that people


“know, love and have been to before”, such as Greece, Turkey, Spain and Cyprus, were proving popular. But he added: “We have to see


how individual countries respond [in relation to allowing UK visitors] when the government makes its announcements on that front.” Reporting leisure sales running


at about 75% of last year’s level on February 22, Byrne described the timescales outlined by the PM in his roadmap that day as “positive” and said Travel Counsellors saw an “encouraging” boost in business


Lucy Huxley


afterwards. However, he pointed out Travel Counsellors agents had to work not only on new business but also rebookings and cancellations. He said new business accounted


for “probably a bit more than we would have expected” and suggested it was down to customers having “solid advice”, flexible booking terms and knowing their money was financially protected.


Watch the interview with Steve Byrne at: go.travelweekly.co.uk/webcasts


travelweekly.co.uk


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