NEWS


proactive, MSC Cruises and business travel. Watch in full at go.travelweekly.co.uk/webcasts BUSINESS TRAVEL


Ian Taylor, Travel Weekly


Andy Gauld, Deloitte


Alistair


Pritchard, Deloitte


will book cruises s operating again


We have made some investigations with our best friends, the travel agents, and have found huge enthusiasm


“most people are using the vouchers”. Onorato also confirmed all MSC’s new ship orders


will go ahead as planned, and that the line will not be selling off any tonnage. He said MSC would “continue to invest” because “we are optimistic”. “We have confirmed all our orders. We will have


the delays that we’ve already announced for MSC Virtuosa – instead of late October, we'll be out in March next year, and Seashore will be coming out in July next year,” he explained. “Then we have confirmed the first World class


ship MSC World Europa coming out at the end of 2022, and we’ve announced [the fifth] Meraviglia [class ship]; and the twin ship of Seashore. So we have all our orders confirmed as well as, in 2023, the first ship for our luxury brand.” He added: “This situation will come to an end at


a certain point. The economy cannot sustain, for so long, such a situation. There will be a vaccine and people will go back to what they like to do.”


Companies will be ‘less eager’ to send staff on business trips


T


he corporate travel sector faces a “challenging” recovery with companies “less eager” to send employees travelling on business


than before. That is the view of Deloitte lead partner


for transportation Alistair Pritchard, who warned some of the decline in business travel “will be permanent”. The UK Business Travel Association (BTA) called last week for a ‘parachute package’ of support measures from the government to help travel management companies (TMCs) and suppliers survive. The BTA wrote to chancellor Rishi Sunak


warning of the loss of up to 10,000 jobs in the sector without urgent action. Speaking on a Travel Weekly Roadmap to


Recovery webcast, Pritchard said: “It’s going to be a challenging recovery on the business travel side – partly because of the [online meeting] technologies that have come to the fore over the last few months. “That is coupled with employers’


responsibility to look after people and a recognition that they can keep costs down. Corporates will be less eager to [send] people travelling on business, particularly long haul.” Pritchard foresees a slow return of corporate


travelweekly.co.uk


travel, arguing: “People like doing business with other people and there is always going to be a desire to do business face to face. So it will start to recover. [But] it will be below the levels it was, at least for some time – driven by corporate policies and the added benefits from a cost and environmental perspective. “The ability to interact with people using


technology, and the overlay of climate change, will be a permanent feature in business travel.” However, Pritchard pointed out: “We


were expecting air travel to grow significantly over the next 10 or 15 years. Will it eventually catch up and overtake where it was pre-Covid? Potentially, but it will be on a lower trajectory than had Covid not happened.” The BTA has urged the chancellor to extend


a 12-month business rates holiday to the sector, scrap APD for 12 months to stimulate air bookings, and extend payroll financial support to TMCs at least until the end of the year, with the money to be repaid from company profits.


13 AUGUST 2020 11 It’s going to be a challenging


recovery – partly because of the [online meeting] technologies


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