BUSINESS NEWS debated challenges facing the sector at a round-table discussion. Ian Taylor reports from Aberdeen
‘Staff retention is more important than bringing in new staff,’ says a recruitment specialist
especially the family market. They expect to go to a visitor attraction and get maximum value, but they also expect to be able to cancel the day before. It’s tough to meet the expectations.” However, the head of a
recruitment agency warned: “We haven’t seen anything yet. So many people have been doing two, three people’s work this summer who aren’t prepared to do it anymore. We’re going to have walkouts. People are going to leave the industry. “I speak to hotel managers
working as chambermaids, and bar staff working in the kitchens, taking four days to come back to operators
There are a lot of
initiatives to try to get people back into the industry, but there are more jobs than people
for a simple group request because they physically haven’t the time to open the booking system and they’ve had enough.” She added: “Tour operating staff
throughout the UK are coming to us saying, ‘We don’t want to do this job anymore. We’re tired, we’re fed up.’ They don’t want to stay in travel.
Inbound operators hail weak pound but UK attractions fear energy bills
Inbound operators are less concerned about the impact of the rising cost of living and deteriorating economic outlook on demand than some of the outbound sector. The chief executive of one UK
inbound operator noted: “We’ve had the worst recession already with zero or little turnover for two years, so this is a pleasant
moment. The world is going crazy, but we have business. We didn’t get much help from government [during Covid], we won’t get much help from government now. But business is turning over so we’re much better off than 18 months ago.” A US specialist operator hailed
the exchange rate with the dollar as bringing “happy days”, saying: “Deposits are rolling in since the
“I don’t know what the answer is,
but staff retention is more important than bringing in new staff because every sector is going to lose staff in the next six months. There isn’t the money to raise salaries, and salaries would have to be lifted to such an extent that companies couldn’t afford it anyway. I wish I knew the answer.” A supplier argued: “Staffing is
absolutely the key issue. We see it across the travel sector. Everybody is under-resourced. None of us can fix it. There is a fundamental issue in the availability of staff in the UK and it’s going to take longer to sort out than the issues in the economy.” The head of a tour operator
argued the only way to cope was “to reduce business”, saying: “Basically, we’re telling customers to go elsewhere in March, April, May and June next year. We’re saying ‘no’ to groups.” However, a leading operator
argued: “We’re not alone in this. Everybody has the same problems. It’s clearly a global issue. The danger is of getting too pessimistic. My attitude is ‘Give us the clients and I’ll give them a good time’. Far better that scenario we’re in than that we have a tour
ready to go but don’t have clients.” • The discussion was held under Chatham House rules, meaning remarks were unattributable.
pound went through the floor.” A second US operator agreed:
“The media coverage of the Queen passing and the fact we have the Coronation next year are positive.” The head of a visitor attraction
reported: “We invested £3 million in a new visitor centre which opened in July 2019 and shut in March 2020. So we went into Covid in debt, then had a loan. This summer was much better than we forecast, and projections for next year look good. We’re so much better off than two years ago.”
However, the head of a hotel
group argued: “Energy bills are a huge concern. Our costs are going to double and we’re closing hotels to ensure we have enough staff in the ones operating.” A destination manager also
highlighted rising prices, arguing: “The energy costs can’t be under- estimated. I have a large regional theatre whose energy bills have gone from £150,000 a year to £670,000, and an aquarium whose bills have gone from £300,000 a year to £1.2 million. That is not viable.”
travelweekly.co.uk
13 OCTOBER 2022
55
PICTURE: Shutterstock/David Tadevosian, Dmitry Kalinovsky
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