NEWS SILVERSTONE TURNS ORANGE:
More than 100 travel agent partners and supplier representatives gathered at Silverstone on Monday for the third annual easyJet holidays Big Orange Party (BOP). A trade fair gave independent agents the opportunity to connect with hotel partners and trade representatives before guests donned black, white and orange attire for a racing-themed evening celebration hosted at the home of the British Grand Prix by the operator’s head of trade distribution Natasha Marson and her team. Pictured from left are easyJet holidays’ Sarah Moore, Alice Dixon and Natasha Marson, with travel agents Katie Richards, Helen Shillito and Carly Humphries, all Holidays by Carly, and Gemma Hussey, also easyJet holidays.
Consumer confidence to transit via Gulf shows signs of recovery
Travel Weekly reporters
Consumer confidence to fly on holiday via the Gulf shows continuing signs of recovery despite the recent heightening of tensions between the US and Iran, according to the latest research for Travel Weekly. However, agents and operators
report continuing reluctance to book holidays to the Gulf. A survey of 1,000 UK
across short-term and longer-term bookings” as encouraging. She noted “increasing confidence
when it comes to travelling via Middle East hubs to long-haul destinations” but added: “Demand for Middle East destinations remains slower to recover.” Specialist Holidays Group chief
adults by Harris Poll UK last month found 30% would be “comfortable” to fly on a long-haul trip via a UAE airport, up from 22% in June. However, this included just 12% of those aged 55 and over, compared with 53% of 18-34-year-olds. Barrhead Travel managing
STORY TOP
executive Andy Freeth said he expects “no 2026 recovery for the Middle East”, noting: “We can’t control what’s going on so we’re focusing on the US, Italy and other destinations.” Ellie Fowler, co-owner of
director Nicki Tempest-Mitchell reported “a strong week of trading” at the start of September, with “overall sales up year on year”, and described “the breadth of demand
travelweekly.co.uk
independent agency The Travel Business in Newport, said: “We did more business in the first two days of September than in the first three weeks of August – some very last-minute, some early planning for next summer.” She reported “little confidence”
in holidays to the UAE but said: “Transiting is back.”
Marco Macchieraldo, head of
product at cruise specialist Paramount Cruises, reported “a strong start to September” with revenue 74% ahead of the same period last year despite slightly lower booking volumes and “a good mix of late and forward bookings”. He said: “We’re not seeing
customers shy away from destinations that involve travelling through international hubs, including the Gulf.” However, The Travel Network
Group commercial director Katharina Peck reported “softer trading, following a strong August finish”, describing this as “typical as the market transitions from peak summer to autumn”. She said bookings and revenue “remain ahead of the same period last year”. Advantage Partnership
commercial director John Sullivan said members’ revenue and average booking value for the year to date had both grown by 9% compared with the same period last year. Barclaycard data for August
showed spending with agents up by
4.4% year on year – outpacing both the 3.1% inflation rate and 2.1% overall rise in card spending. The number of card transactions with agents was up by 7.4%, whereas airlines saw a 1% rise in transactions but 3.5% increase in spending. Two out of five respondents in
the Harris Poll UK survey (40%) said they plan an overseas break between now and March – with 20% ‘very likely’ to have one – and 52% plan an overseas holiday in the next 12 months, with 24% interested in a long-haul trip. Living costs remain the chief concern when considering travel, cited by 40% of respondents, with one-third (32%) concerned about safety, and 21% concerned about disruption – down 10 percentage points since April. One in six (17%) said they were delaying making a holiday booking because of current uncertainty. The Harris Poll UK surveyed
1,000 adults on behalf of Travel Weekly on August 18-25.
10 SEPTEMBER 2026 5
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
