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ravel Weekly’s annual Northern Powerhouse Question Time The event, which was held prior to the collapse of Thomas Co
‘Have confidence to plan despite Brexit concerns’
Travel firms should have the confidence to make solid plans for the future despite uncertainty around Brexit, delegates at the Northern Powerhouse Business Breakfast were told. Speaking before the collapse
of Tomas Cook, Richard Singer, chief executive of
Icelolly.com, said demand had returned aſter an unpredictable first quarter of the year. “Despite the political uncertainty,
holidays have remained remarkably resilient and we are seeing the difference between discretionary and essential spending,” he said. “I believe that should give (travel
firms) good confidence to plan.” However, Singer admited that
he had seen more “aggressive” price-led messages which would put pressure on margins, a view echoed by Designer Travel managing director Amanda Mathews.
‘The north needs HS3 east-west link more than HS2’
Uncertainty over the future of the HS2 rail project is an example of Westminster’s lack of genuine commitment to regional development, delegates were told. However, speakers agreed that
the future of HS2 was of secondary importance to ensuring the east- west HS3 line linking Leeds and
68 10 OCTOBER 2019
“Our sales are up but not our margins, so we’ve had to walk away from sales where the margin isn’t sufficient”
She said: “When the market
is facing a difficult situation, it prompts people to offer holidays at stupid margins. Te customer didn’t necessarily ask for it, but suddenly you are competing on a lower price.” She added: “Our sales are up
year on year but our margins haven’t matched that, so we have had to walk away from bookings where the margin isn’t sufficient to service them.” Andy Freeth, chief executive of
If Only, said the operator had seen a pick-up in business following a relatively soſt March and April. He
Manchester was delivered. Manchester airport chief
operations officer Brad Miller said: “From the perspective of the Northern Powerhouse, HS3 is far more important to us. “As a region we need to be
competing not just with the south, but with Europe, and creating a hub for the north. To do this we have to be thinking about connectivity.”
Icelolly.com’s Richard Singer
described the links between Leeds and Manchester as “painful” and noted that connecting Liverpool to Newcastle was an even greater
Richard Singer
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pointed to an element of “Brexit fatigue” which could spur customers to book despite future concerns. “Te uncertainty makes it difficult
and the currency issue means we are having to work really hard to deliver value, but with our higher average selling price we are not seeing a significant impact,” he said. “Demand is still there and we are certainly
staffed up for a busy October.” Brad Miller, chief operations
officer at Manchester airport, said clear advanced communication with travellers was key to ensure disruption would be minimised in the event of Brexit. “If everybody travelling through the airport stops to ask one extra question, that is going to cause a lot of disruption,” he added.
challenge. He added: “Te north oſten feels like a political pawn for Westminster. “Commitments are oſten made
but they are easy to say as the actual delivery is so far down the line. It would be like me saying to my investors: ‘Can you invest £90 billion now for something you won’t see for 30 years?’” Referring to a possible impact of
Brexit, Miller said: “It is impossible to say, but you do wonder how much the subject of the Northern Powerhouse might have accelerated were it not for the ‘B word’.”
travelweekly.co.uk
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