from the slopes


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Senior industry figures discuss trading, AI and more on the T


Lucy Huxley reports from Saalbach, Austria T


ravel agents, operators, airlines and cruise lines reported a “flying” start to the year during a


round-table debate, saying peaks sales met the record-breaking forecasts set at the end of 2023. Sarah Lancashire, dnata marketing


director, said the group’s four brands – Gold Medal, Pure Luxury, Cruise Plus and Incredible Journeys – enjoyed an “outstanding peaks”. “Phones were ringing off the hook


since the beginning of December, which was earlier than usual,” she said. “We’ve also had a few exclusive offers for out-of-date-range holidays and they’ve flown off the shelves.” Lancashire said the growing all-


inclusive trend “hasn’t dwindled” and families are the “most cost-conscious” customers, which was also noted by John Sullivan, commercial head at The Advantage Travel Partnership, in last week’s Travel Weekly (April 4). If Only general manager Gordon


McCreadie also reported a strong start to the year despite a weaker February, saying: “January was great, February was a lot softer


10 11 APRIL 2024


and March has improved again; in fact, it’s flying.” Barrhead sales and marketing


director Nicki Tempest-Mitchell said the agency had enjoyed a record-breaking start to the year, buoyed by “four consecutive record-breaking Saturdays”. McCreadie added there was still


a degree of caution among certain consumers, with some still yet to seal their booking after enquiring and others looking ahead to next year. “Some customers are still saying


they plan to book this year but haven’t got round to it yet, while others are securing the holiday of their dreams for next year,” he added. This was echoed by Silversea UK


sales director Connie Georgiou. She said: “We’ve had a really good Q1 but it’s been more for 2025-26 bookings.” Sam Conway, head of UK travel


sales at Travelzoo, also noted a shift in booking patterns, saying: “We had our busiest booking day on December 20, even though peak trading didn’t kick off until January 1. The consumer was thinking about their holiday far earlier for this year; peaks has definitely changed.” McCreadie agreed: “Traditional


peaks doesn’t have the same make-or- break impact it used to.” Conway added that frequently


introducing new destinations to offer more choice has proved successful. “We carry a huge amount of Greece on Travelzoo, but when you push something new such as Serbia or Montenegro the interest is huge – people want different things,” he said.


Rising cost of flights Georgiou noted the rising cost of flights is putting some customers off


The shoulder seasons are selling well but flight


prices to Athens are really high. It’s cheaper to do a seven-night cruise from Doha in Qatar than it is in the Med because of high fares


booking, warning: “People want to go away and want to book – the key thing stopping people is the price of flights.” Janet Parton, vice-president of


business development at Celestyal, agreed: “The shoulder seasons are selling well, but flight prices to Athens are really high. It’s cheaper to do a seven-night cruise from Doha in Qatar than it is in the Med because of high fares.” Similarly, Virgin Voyages’ director


of UK sales Sarah Jane Walker said: “For Q1 overall we’ve got just over double the number of bookings versus last year. We’re heading in the right direction, but July and August are a bit softer, probably due to the higher flight prices. The Caribbean is looking more appealing because it’s a similar price to some of our European sailings.” Lancashire said: “Agreed. The low-


cost carriers aren’t low cost anymore!” However, Virgin Atlantic’s


head of agency sales Nicki Goldsmith said: “More capacity is coming into the market now – we’re getting back to the same levels of capacity we had in 2019.


travelweekly.co.uk ravel Weekly and Hotelplan ski trip.


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