Agents seek ‘clarity’ before shops reopen


Ben Ireland and Juliet Dennis T


ravel agents have called for more clarity on the government’s ‘phased’ approach to reintroducing retail before they can commit to reopening shops. Prime minister Boris Johnson announced on


Sunday that he hoped more shops could begin to reopen from June 1. A 50-page government document followed


on Monday, with eight lines of text on the subject saying details about which businesses could reopen when would be revealed “shortly”. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British


Retail Consortium, called for more clarity and said: “Safety is what counts.” Haslemere Travel owner Gemma Antrobus said


her high street shop in Surrey was likely to operate a closed-door, appointment-only policy when it was allowed to open, as well as video calls with clients. “We will do whatever the government says on


how we should operate but I would like to know more [on what we need to do],” she said. “We are not a work-from-home business; it’s


fine if it means another four or five weeks but we cannot work like this for ever.” Paul Hardwick, head of commercial at Fred


Olsen Travel, said he would be looking to reopen some of the agency’s 15 stores from June 1 with a skeleton staff. But he too called on the government to give more clarity on health and safety measures.


ALSO IN THE PAST WEEK...


Fred Olsen Travel may reopen some stores from June1


“We absolutely have to know our staff will be


safe before we can open,” he said. Polka Dot Travel operations director Mark


Johnson said he was in “no rush” to reopen the agency’s 19 shops, adding that because “demand for 2020 isn’t there”, doing so would “increase overheads” and add “unnecessary strain” on the business. Simon Morgan, chief executive of Tailor Made


Travel, said lockdown rules in Wales meant he could not open any stores in the near future. He does not envisage all 20 shops reopening until January 2021. Tui, which has more than 500 retail shops, said


it had “no reopening plans at the moment”. Hays Travel, which has 650-plus stores, said


reopening would be “in line with government guid- ance”, with staff and client safety the “first priority”.


Simon Morgan


‘Trade needs stat T


Juliet Dennis xyxyxx xyxyxy


ailor Made Travel boss Simon Morgan has called on the government to offer guaranteed loans to the trade until advice against international travel changes.


Chief executive Morgan, who employs 100 staff across


20 high street branches in South Wales, believes the plight of the retail travel agent has been largely under- represented at government level. The indefinite advice against all but essential travel


by the Foreign Office was “significantly impacting” the industry’s ability to get back on its feet, said Morgan, whose own business has seen booking revenues plummet. “In the last 90 days we would have taken £9 million in


booking revenue; it’s down to £1 million,” he said. Despite government support, which has included


grants of £25,000 per branch, Morgan said more was needed based on the lack of revenue this year and the time it would take agencies to recover. He said: “If the government said it was not safe to fish, the fishing industry would quickly get subsidies.


Wednesday, May 6 O


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Iata backs use of face masks on flights


Qatar Airways says it will restart flights to 80 destinations, including Heathrow, Edinburgh and Manchester, by end of June


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NCLH says it is ‘well-positioned’ after securing $2bn of financing


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David Urquhart Travel to wind up its coach tour operation


Portugal to host A World For Travel forum for global industry leaders in Evora in November


Airbnb cuts 1,900 jobs, a quarter of its workforce


Walt Disney reports $1.4bn hit from Covid-19


Thursday, May 7 O


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Air France reports €1.8bn quarterly loss


Scenic Group commits to building six new ships as steel is cut on Scenic Eclipse II


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UNWTO predicts global tourism will suffer a 60%-80% hit this year


Princess Cruises extends suspension until June 30, as does Cruise & Maritime Voyages


Friday, May 8 O


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Delta agrees joint venture with Latam after taking 20% stake


Ryanair reintroduces three routes from Stansted


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14 MAY 2020


travelweekly.co.uk


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