NEWS TRAVEL WEEKLY BUSINESS CONTINUED FROM THE BACK
bonds of friendship, security, culture and commerce with the rest of the world. The travel and tourism business is an incredibly potent force in achieving those goals. “Let me be clear: America is
open for business. America is open for travel and it is open to the millions of international visitors who wish it well.” Addressing the proposal to
scrap funding for Brand USA, both Dow and Brand USA chief executive Chris Thompson remained bullish. “Brand USA is here to stay, simple as that,” Dow said. “Sometimes little mistakes get made in Washington and we will work very hard to correct that mistake.” Thompson added: “The
president’s budget is just a starting point – a statement of priorities. We received authorisation [in 2014] with bipartisan support from both chambers and parties. We look forward to having that conversation with congress.” Despite widespread concerns
over pressures on inbound travel, the USTA revealed surprise figures which showed international visits in April rose year on year. However, visits from Europe and the UK were down, with 6.1% fewer UK visitors compared with the same month in 2016. This decrease reflected the first three months of the year, with UK visitor numbers down 6.1% against an overall international drop of 0.2%. Dow said: “People are quick
to jump to the president [as a reason for the decline], but some tell me it’s Brexit and others it’s the strength of the dollar. My guess is that it’s a combination of the three. We need to play the long game [with the Trump administration], but my much bigger concern is the strength of the dollar.”
GTMC Conference 2017: The election, Brexit and BA’s GDS fee dom
A clean Brexit would be best for UK – economist
Britain “needs a clean break” from Europe to benefit from a growing world economy, a senior economist told business travel leaders.
Gerard Lyons, chief economic
strategist for wealth management firm Netwealth and former chief economic adviser to the Mayor of London, said: “Too many economists are pessimistic. “We were told there would be Armageddon and economic collapse if we voted to leave [the EU], [but] the next 20 years will probably be one of the strongest periods ever for the world economy. The point is for Britain to be in the best position for that.” Lyons told the GTMC
Conference: “Kick out all the terminology about a hard or soft Brexit. It will be a clean or messy Brexit. A clean Brexit would be best for Britain. “We need to be outside the
single market. We need control of migrant policy. We have to be outside the customs union. The UK needs to set its trade policy itself.
Parkes to succeed Wait as GTMC chief executive
The GTMC has appointed Adrian Parkes as its new chief executive to take over from Paul Wait. He will join from Portman/ Clarity Travel, the UK’s seventh-largest travel management company (TMC), where he is product and marketing director. Wait will leave the GTMC in
July to join Southall Travel as chief operating officer, running
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travelweekly.co.uk 15 June 2017
LYONS: ‘The world economy is starting to gain momentum’
“The UK needs to be outside the single market and to set its trade policy itself”
“Bear in mind the EC has
acknowledged 90% of global growth will come from outside the EU. The focus for the next two years needs to be on a deal.” Lyons warned: “I fear Whitehall
does not get it. We should have upscaled our port facilities and technology and we haven’t. We’re a year behind already.”
the company’s corporate travel business Applehouse Travel. He has headed the GTMC since January 2013. In an emotional farewell at the
conference, Wait said: “It has been a real honour.” GTMC chairman Paul Allan paid tribute to Wait saying: “In the last five years, Paul has transformed the whole show.” Parkes will take over at the
GTMC in September, having been with Portman Travel since 2010. He was previously sales vice- president at Etihad Airways and
spent 11 years at BMI. ● The GTMC has set up a
WAIT: ‘It has been a real honour [to be GTMC chief executive]’
‘millennial board’ to shadow its executive board in an effort to draw young people into the sector.
Describing the state of the UK economy, he said: “There was a deep recession, then seven years of growth of 2% a year. Normally after seven years, economic growth would start to lessen. Inflation has picked up, but not just here, across most of the world. Inflation will squeeze domestic spending. Profit margins will take a hit. “The next few years will be challenging. But the world economy is starting to gain momentum. Providing we get policy right we should be in a position to take advantage of a growing global economy.”
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