CONFERENCE Global Travel Week 2021: Inaugural event in London featured business meetings, mem


Etoa boss: Members would welcome full revival by 2023


T


he tourism industry in Europe will be fortunate to see a full recovery by 2023, according to


the chief executive of tourism association Etoa. Speaking on a Travel Weekly panel


at Global Travel Week, Tom Jenkins said challenges included establishing consumer confidence and addressing staffing and skills issues. He said: “From the UK perspective


[the industry] is coming out of a near-total absence of tourism that has lasted more than 18 months. “If you look back at the past


great tourism slumps, in 1986, 1991, 2002-3 and 2007-8, we have never experienced anything like this. “Members [of Etoa] will say there


is considerable pent-up demand, but I don’t know how robust that is. “The tourism industry relies


If you look back at


the past great tourism slumps, we have never experienced anything like this


almost on a conveyor belt of people going to a destination and telling people what a great time they had and it’s going to take a while to build that momentum.” Jenkins added: “There are also


issues on the supply side as the service economy has been mothballed. I don’t know what the dawn is going to look like. I think it is going to be gradual. “It will occur, but I think my


members would be very, very happy if we saw a full recovery by 2023.” Susan Deer, director of industry


relations at Abta, agreed the broader restart presented “framework challenges” in the shape of travel restrictions and advice but also operational challenges as overseas sectors that had largely been shut down began to return. She said: “You’ve had a lot of


hotels that have been fully closed or partly-staffed. We’ve lost a lot of the expertise from the industry so we are looking at the issues that come up with hotels that aren’t necessarily Covid-related. “We are looking at all those


standards and obviously tour operators are going to have to engage with that.”


For more coverage from Global Travel Week, visit: travelweekly.co.uk


Upmarket clients ‘want value and expertise’


Finnbar Cornwall


Upmarket travel brands that can demonstrate their value and expertise will be best placed to generate client loyalty, according to Kuoni’s product director. Speaking on a panel hosted by


luxury brand Aspire, Claire Ross said travel professionals who had nurtured trust over the pandemic would be able to capitalise on high-spend clients as they return. “We should have confidence in our


experience through the last 18 months and share our opinions,” she said. “The way we’re going to encourage


our clients to stick with us is to make sure our guests can trust us.” Google travel industry leader


Finnbar Cornwall likened the next 12 months to the marble-based game Hungry Hungry Hippos, with travel brands jostling to secure consumers returning to the market. “If you get your proposition right,


you could grab a bunch of those marbles and bring people into your business. Then it’s down to you to show that you’re adding value,” he said. Cornwall said 32%-42% of high


and middle-income households and retirees in the UK had increased their savings over the course of the pandemic, while recent figures from Kuoni showed its average honeymoon booking value had risen by 13% from £7,985 in 2019 to £9,045 for 2022.


Tourist boards stress


Tourist boards stressed the need to build closer ties between communities and tourism during the recovery. Speaking at a Unity Through


Tourism panel session, representatives of Caribbean and African nations highlighted the importance of making sure clients understood a destination’s heritage and culture to ensure both holidaymakers and destinations benefit from tourism. Barbados Tourism Marketing


senior business development officer Marc McCollin said: “Covid has taught us we need to get our people in Barbados more involved. There


14


7 OCTOBER 2021


travelweekly.co.uk


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