5 2


January business steady but not booming – agents


Ian Taylor and Juliet Dennis


Agents and operators offered conflictin vies of anuary tradin this ee, but ost described the aret as flat  a vie confired by analyst f.


David Hope, GfK senior client


insight director, reported bookings down year on year in the week to January 5, but noted: “There was one day less of sales than last year. Adjusting for the lost day, the maret is flat.


Hope added: “[Season-to-date] summer 2019 bookings are still aout  up year on year. Spear Travels managing director


Peter Cookson said: “The market is flat. ear to date e are ahead, ut January is on a par with last year. “Saturday was quiet – so much


for unshine aturday. However, luxury operator


If Only reported “an excellent Sunshine Saturday with revenue up  versus last year. ales and marketing director Gordon McCreadie said: “The Indian Ocean, Middle East, US and Asia performed


ell, reflecting concern over the value of the pound against the euro. Vivid Travel managing director


Kane Pirie said: “We’ve had a fantastic start to January. The market is holding up so well despite the reit saga. Alan Bowen, legal advisor to the Association of Atol Companies, said: “Business is OK, but it’s not ooming. e arned The fear is what happens after MPs vote next week. If there is a risk of a no-deal Brexit, the press will go berserk and the fear is people will stop spending. s are epected to vote on the government’s Brexit deal on January 15. Aito Agents chairman Gemma


Antrobus said members attending the association’s conference at the eeend ere confident they ould ride the storm, saying There as no doom and gloom. She insisted: “We’re used to having to adapt. ell get through this. Anthony Goord, co-owner of


Peter Goord Travel, reported sales slightly ahead of last year ut said: “People don’t seem to want to


oo around arch .  Sunday Times impact, page 6


An image of Celebrity Edge on a wall in Cruise Beyond. Inset, owner Sandra Corkin


Oasis plans first cruise-only shop


Amie Keeley amie.keeley@travelweekly.co.uk


asis ravel is to turn its cruise call centre into a hih street shop to eet roin deand fro custoers to boo facetoface.


Cruise Beyond will become orthern relands first cruise only agency by the end of the month following a renovation of Oasis Travel’s Howard Street store in Belfast. It launched in 2017 with two staff and has since grown to seven in an office aove the store it ill now occupy. Owner Sandra Corkin said:


“It’s grown and grown. A lot of customers were saying ‘can we come in and see you? Where are you?’ So I thought we needed a dedicated cruise agency. “When people are spending a


Travel sales ‘flat’ despite ‘Sunshine Saturday’


lot of money on a cruise, they like to feel confident hen ooing, especially if its their first cruise, so they ant facetoface contact. The shop will be rebranded


Cruise Beyond, with Oasis Travel


in the corner of the shop fascia. Online and phone cruise enquiries will still be handled from offices in the same uilding, hile Oasis’s appointment-only business Portfolio will continue to be based in the same property, which was acquired from former rival Knock Travel in 2017. Following the renovation, Cruise


Beyond will feature a virtual reality area allowing customers to explore new ship Celebrity Edge, as well as cruise-themed wallpaper featuring other lines including Silversea Cruises and Royal Caribbean International. Corkin said cruise makes up


about 30% of Oasis’s business. Last year, Iglu-owned Planet


Cruise launched in Ireland, offering departures from Dublin and Irish airports, while independent agent Thompson Travel created a cruise loyalty scheme, The Cruise Counter, to drive bookings. In Britain, cruise-only agencies


opened last year in London, Manchester, Wales and the Suffolk town of Woodbridge.


10 January 2019travelweekly.co.uk5 3 STORIES HOT


PICTURE: SHUTTERSTOCK


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