Travlaw Big Tent Event: The latest market trends, changes to employment law Continued from page 64
runway without a transformation of Heathrow’s regulatory regime and reduction in landing charges. Yet financing a third runway will depend on funds raised through a levy on Heathrow fares. The government insists
expansion will only proceed if Heathrow meets its environmental targets. It’s hard to see how this will be possible. Reeves claimed sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) would be a “game changer” in addressing the CO2 challenges of expansion. But the government projects SAF will comprise only 22% of aviation fuel by 2040. The government said it will
engage with the Climate Change Committee “on how aviation expansion can be consistent” with net zero commitments. However, the committee reported in 2023: “No airport expansion should proceed until a UK-wide capacity management framework is in place. Any additional airport capacity that would facilitate increased demand should not take place unless corresponding reductions in capacity are made at other UK airports.” Legal challenges are certain.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has already said he “won’t hesitate to launch” a legal challenge. One of the biggest challenges
could be in construction. Experts question whether the UK has the skills to deliver a project of this size when construction worker numbers have fallen by 360,000- plus and Brexit means there is no simple way to bring in EU workers. Heathrow will now revise
its 2019 expansion plan which involves creating a tunnel for the M25. This was costed at £14 billion in 2014, a ludicrously small sum in light of the subsequent rise in construction costs.
Operators see growth in late sales and adventure
Holiday bookings are coming in closer to departure despite being in the midst of the peak summer booking period. That is according to Kuoni UK
managing director Mark Duguid who said: “It’s a very late market. Kuoni has not traditionally been in the lates space, but we’re seeing a large amount of late business.” Speaking at a Travlaw Big Tent
Event in London in January, Duguid said: “We’re pivoting to meet demand to complex, experiential destinations in Africa, India, the Far East, Australasia and North America. We have customers explicitly asking for bucket-list destinations they want to tick off.” At the same time, he identified
value for money as “another big trend”, saying: “The top demand coming through is for value. We need to offer value for money.” Duguid suggested: “Brands such
as Kuoni may have been deluding ourselves [on this] for a while.”
More frequent extreme weather creates challenges
Tour operators face increasing operational challenges owing to the frequency of extreme weather. Kuoni UK managing director
Mark Duguid highlighted the challenges, saying: “There is something happening almost every month.” Speaking at the Travlaw event, he noted: “The operations team
62 6 FEBRUARY 2025 Brian Young, G Adventures
managing director for the UK and Europe, noted: “We’re seeing growth in active areas, seeing more people wanting active adventure holidays – hiking, biking – and a shift to an older demographic being more active, but they don’t want to camp. So, we have people staying in hotels with a nuance or in a spectacular location. People who are older want to be active but also want finer things alongside.” He said G Adventures had 25 new
used to be dealing with [things like] aircraft going tech. Last year, we had wildfires in Greece, three cyclones in Mauritius and floods in Spain.” Brian Young, G Adventures
managing director for the UK and Europe, added: “Customers are a bit more conscious of the climate, but I’m not convinced people are going to colder climates.” He said: “We’ve seen Tui
and Jet2, who carry huge numbers of people to the eastern Mediterranean, extending the season [to cooler times]. “The problem we have in the
UK is the school summer holidays.
People with children can only go for six weeks of the year.” He suggested: “Maybe we’ll see
some change with that, but we’re not seeing a change in demand [from customers].”
travelweekly.co.uk
trips for this year, “the most we’ve released in our history”, and reported bookings “16% up year on year”, insisting: “Adventure has gone from being niche to being mainstream.” Young added: “Solo traveller
demand has grown phenomenally. Some people want to travel with other solo travellers and that dynamic is different to going with couples or groups, so we separate them. “We’re probably the biggest
operator of solo holidays out of the UK now.”
Forest fires in Greece in 2023
Mark Duguid
PICTURE: Shutterstock/Ververidis Vasilis
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 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
