FLIGHT-FREE TRAVEL


Janet Parton


Travel Weekly’s Katie McGonagle


Paul Brindley


Emma Batchelor


James Weaver


Aspire’s Hollie-Rae Brader


Mark Duguid


Roadmap to Recovery Travel Weekly webcasts: To watch these and upcoming webcasts, visit LUXURY OPERATORS


Paul Cleary


No-fly specialists target ‘closer-to-home’ demand


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gents have a “great opportunity” to tap into demand for no-fly holidays this year,


according to experts in the rail, ferry and touring markets. Emma Batchelor, director of


Discover Ferries, which represents ferry operators, said its consumer research found more than 50% of those surveyed wanted to travel within the UK and British Isles, and 27% were keen to travel to Europe. She said there were over 37 million


passenger journeys by ferry in 2019 and satisfaction levels are around 90%, “so it’s a fantastic product we just need more people to know about”. “All of our members are looking


forward to working with travel agents,” said Batchelor. “Some of them are already really


active. DFDS, Brittany Ferries, Irish Ferries, P&O Ferries and Stena Line, for example, all have really good relationships with travel agents. “But some of the smaller


operators, like Isles of Scilly Travel, Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and even Thames Clippers in London,


10 9 JULY 2020


are all looking for opportunities to engage even more with travel agents and people booking group holidays, so there’s a great opportunity.” Eurostar head of sales Paul


Brindley said a “groundswell” of interest in flight-free travel had begun prior to the coronavirus outbreak, as environmental concerns drove passengers to avoid air travel. He added: “People want to aspire


to travel again; there’s a pent-up demand. Once that momentum starts building, whether it’s in trains, aeroplanes or ferries, there’s going to be a demand for all sectors of travel. Certainly for this year, it’s going to be for closer-to-home destinations.” Sister touring brands Cosmos and


Globus have suspended operations until the end of September, but are pushing a domestic range. Sales and marketing director Janet


Parton said: “We can sell our tours as tour-only, we don’t need to sell them as a flight-inclusive package. Guests can make their own way to the embarkation point by Eurostar, ferry or train – so Europe is still available to people on a no-fly option.”


‘Agents have demonstrated their value during the crisis’


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uxury operators have praised agents who have “been to hell and back” during the pandemic and encouraged


them to “command a premium” for their services in future. Carrier managing director Mark


Duguid said agents had “been available, showed empathy and been flexible” and had worked hard to “do the best for their clients”. Duguid said a number of retail


partners had contacted him agreeing they should “command a premium for their service” and saying they planned to focus more on higher-end clients who are less price-sensitive. Lusso boss James Weaver said close


relationships between his staff and agencies had been key. “We’re lucky we deal with some exceptional agents,” he said. “They dealt with the clients amid that confusion and unease. It was all about communication.” Caribtours managing director Paul


Cleary said the pandemic had brought out the “real spirit of partnerships” between agents and operators, adding: “All of this adversity has brought us a


This crisis has also


exposed murky areas where practices aren’t as clean as they should be


lot closer together with the agent.” He said that while the Covid-19


pandemic had brought out the best in most businesses, it had also exposed “murky areas” where “practices aren’t as clean as they should be”, particularly around the “money chain”. He urged more businesses to “do the right thing” following criticism of some UK operators by Caribbean hoteliers for not paying bills for pre-Covid travel. Weaver and Cleary agreed change


was necessary. Lusso pre-pays all its suppliers, while Caribtours pre-pays some and works on credit with others. Cleary said: “This crisis has


brought out the best in most of us, but it’s also exposed those murky areas where practices aren’t as clean as they should be. It’s client money – we don’t play with it, we don’t invest it, we don’t spend it on anything.”


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