INSIDE THIS


WEEK Contents


NEWS Hot Stories


Tui and Cook post bigger winter losses; Silversea boss and Kent acquire A&K; Clients ‘edgy’ over Scenic Eclipse delay; ‘Industry legend’ Harry Weeks dies at 94; Clampdown on hotel sites welcomed


WIN!


Round-up Virgin Voyages ‘in Med’; Barrhead record 08 MSC sales surge; Clia Expedition Forum 10


A trip for two on the Venice Simplon-Orient- Express plus two nights in Venice page 40


Special Reports Hall of Fame to induct six sector leaders 12 Face to Face: Gavin Tollman, Trafalgar


14 Talk Back Thomas Cook, Edinburgh, Brexit staffing


NEWS YOU CAN USE Product Haven, Travel 2, Funway, Qatar 23


Operator Abercrombie, G Adventures 24


Cruise My Cruise Excursion, P&O, A-Rosa 26 Destination Premier, Visit Orlando


28


FRONTLINE Comment Giles Hawke: appreciate offers 34


This Week In Perusing the TW archives 36 Readers’ Lives Catherine Lornie Mystery Shopper Central London


38 48


DESTINATIONS


Middle East Wildlife: Turtles, oryxes, falcons, whales 50 Abu Dhabi: 48 hours in the UAE capital 57


Asia


COVER STAR The Travel Company’s Catherine Lornie visits NCL island in the Bahamas


page 38 PHOTO: STEVE HOCKSTEIN


Nepal: Guide to Asia’s adventure capital 62 Hong Kong: New and alternative districts 69


BUSINESS


UKinbound Convention 2019 Glasgow 78 Thomas Cook Group moots airline sale 80


WHAT


LUCY DID THIS WEEK


Feb 14 1


2 3


19 04


A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Bookings woe is galling T


here can be little doubt now that uncertainty about Brexit is affecting bookings. Analyst GfK reports that


last week was the third in a row to show a substantial year-on-year decline in summer 2019 bookings. The fall appears directly related to headlines in the


consumer press highlighting potential barriers to travel. It is galling to know that so many of these – ‘No deal


threat to 5m tickets’ (The Times), ‘Five million airline tickets may be cancelled’ (Which? Travel), ‘Passport chaos: 3.5m passports could be INVALID’ (Daily Express) – have been baseless. The UK government and EU have confirmed flights will


operate and passports with six months’ validity will be accepted at borders. Yet the damage has been done. The fear now is that the impact will continue until there is some certainty on Brexit. That could still be weeks away. The impact is not confined to outbound bookings.


We report this week from the UKinbound convention in Glasgow (page 78) where VisitBritain revealed overseas bookings to Britain are running more than 10% down on last year – with the decline from northern Europe, in general, and France in particular. Concern about post-Brexit travel is the main reason. VisitBritain head Sally Balcombe reports: “We’ve said to


the government, ‘Give us some messaging’.” The outbound sector deserves the same.


Having fuelled this uncertainty, the least the government can do is address it head-on. Cabinet ministers should make clear UK


holidaymakers to the EU and EU travellers to Britain can book in expectation of travelling as planned, post-March 29, and they should do so without delay.


Lucy Huxley Editor-in-chief @Lucy_Huxley


Hosted a Facebook Live session and chaired a ‘Captain’s Table’ dinner for Virgin Voyages and UK agents, with the line’s executives.


Caught up with Cosmos/Avalon and with Attraction Tickets Direct/Do Something Different regarding their plans for 2019.


Joined executives from many ocean and river cruise lines on the annual Cruise.co.uk sales conference to Villars in Switzerland.


14 February 2019travelweekly.co.uk3


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  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88