NEWS


Summer is over, roll on summer! The hot and dry summer of 2022 has passed


in the blink of an eye and thoughts will now inevitably turn to 2023 holidays. Only the overly optimistic would dare to dream


that next year’s UK summer will be as warm and dry as it has been this year, and we therefore need to start encouraging customers to book now for their dream 2023 holidays. Whether it’s a beach holiday, a cruise, a city


Giles Hawke


CHIEF EXECUTIVE, COSMOS AND AVALON WATERWAYS


It’s already time to look ahead and inspire sales for next summer


break or a multi-destination escorted touring holiday, I think most of us are expecting 2023 to be the year that overseas holiday demand exceeds 2019 levels – the last time we had a so-called normal year. Surely it’s time for the travel industry to catch


a break. We have had to battle through Covid, airport disruption and flight cancellations and we now have the cost-of-living crisis and the threat of a recession looming over us, not to mention the ongoing daily soap opera of our farcical government as it appoints a new leader and cabinet that risks being as bad as the outgoing one. We need a good year to


Even with the pound struggling against other


currencies, an overseas holiday is still pretty exceptional value for money when you look at the type of experience you get. And that is perhaps why we are seeing really


strong demand for our North American coach tours, as well as Italy and Ireland, two of our most popular European destinations.


Push positive messages Demand for the Danube and Rhine is starting strongly for 2023 and we expect the international markets to return in high volumes next year, so Brits may even struggle to get on to a river cruise if they don’t get themselves booked in early. We have seen some very low prices in 2022,


get us all back on track and restore consumer confidence in travelling for leisure. Pent-up demand is definitely there and people want to dream and experience life again.


“If you have cost- conscious clients, now is the time for them to travel, as they are unlikely to do better by waiting until 2023”


and there are still some out there in the market for bargain hunters, but I don’t envisage these price points being repeated next year and people are going to have to pay closer to normal prices for their river cruises. If you have cost-conscious


customers, now is the time for them to travel, as they are unlikely to do better by waiting until 2023. And, if you have people


who know what they want and are prepared to pay the


Stress the value The bucket list is now longer than ever and people are ready to start ticking things off that list. We have all been trying to keep their travel dreams alive and give them inspiration for the future through our marketing and regular communications. Having had summer holidays here in the UK


for the past two summers, I know from personal experience that staying at home definitely isn’t cheaper than going abroad. British accommodation providers appear to


have hiked prices to incredible levels. And good restaurants aren’t as plentiful as they are in most overseas destinations – and those that are good are very expensive and/or impossible to secure a booking at!


12 8 SEPTEMBER 2022


real cost of that holiday, they should get booked now – this gives them certainty of price and longer to dream about their next adventure, whatever it might be. We have to believe that the issues seen this year


around international travel will have been ironed out by 2023 and have confidence that it will be a bumper year for all of us in the travel industry. We all need to get our shoulders behind the


positive messaging and find good news stories for consumers, to get them excited and confident about booking and travelling next year. As summer fades into autumn, we all need to get


out there and encourage customers to commit to fulfilling their travel dreams.


Read more columns by Giles Hawke: go.travelweekly.co.uk/comment


travelweekly.co.uk


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