NEWS ng topics at event attended by 370 delegates. Juliet Dennis and Robin Murray report from Majorca


‘Cost and affordability are still consumers’ priorities’


C


Guest speaker Sally Gunnell, former Olympic champion


for raising trust and loyalty’


and overstressed, you need to remain authentic and maintain your brand voice; do not let go of that human contact.” In a separate panel discussion,


Dawson & Sanderson commercial director Judith Alderson said AI “lacks the emotion to recommend a holiday, unlike our staff”. She added: “My opinion is that AI


won’t replace human beings.” At the conference, Abta unveiled data


revealing the proportion of consumers using AI to inspire holiday choices had doubled from 4% to 8% in the past year.


ost and affordability will continue to be the top priorities for UK consumers when booking a holiday, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which


forecast a “positive road ahead” for the sector. Eleanor Scott of Strategy&, part of the PwC UK


network, highlighted PwC research conducted in May that revealed value for money was the most important factor for consumers when choosing where to travel, with 60% of respondents selecting this criterion. “Confidence is a bit fragile at the moment, and that


means people are spending carefully,” she told delegates. “When people are spending carefully, they want to


know that they’re getting good value. So you need to offer value for money to customers – and you need to be able to communicate that.” Scott added that value for money “doesn’t necessarily


mean the cheapest holiday available”. PwC UK head of travel Rick Jones pointed to Barclays


research highlighting that despite economic uncertainty, people are continuing to prioritise spend on experiences. “What we can see is that experiences are being


prioritised,” he said, adding: “In the year ahead, travel is very much a top priority [for consumers]. “When asking what people think they’ll be spending their money on in the next year, 35% of people said they’ll be spending more on travel.


Eleanor Scott “Despite the political macro environment, we believe


the road ahead is a positive one for the travel sector.” PwC’s bright outlook was backed up by Abta’s latest


Holiday Habits research, which the association had unveiled earlier in the conference. Its survey of 2,000 UK adults found the number of


people expecting to take an overseas holiday in the next 12 months has risen by three percentage points to 71%. Nearly half (46%) of those who intend to take a holiday


in the coming year have booked or started to book their trip, according to Abta. Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “I’m optimistic


about the year ahead. The industry is in good financial shape. We’re well out of Covid now and the signs are positive.” Abta’s research also found that 34% of respondents


who had been on holiday in the past year used a travel professional to book their trip – down from 38% in 2024.


Cruising offers ‘a significant opportunity for future growth’


The number of cruise ships on order highlights the “significant growth opportunity” in the UK market, according to industry leaders. More than 70 ships are expected


to be built across the globe in the next 10 years – an order book equating to about $51 billion – and panellists encouraged agents to capitalise on this expansion. “If you want to build a cruise ship, you’re going to


struggle to get into the shipyards before 2035,” said Paul Beale, UK and Ireland vice-president of sales for Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. Celebrity Cruises international vice-president Giles


travelweekly.co.uk Giles Hawke


Hawke said the whole sector has improved at “making cruise look more attractive” as a holiday choice. He added: “It’s great to see


continued growth in the UK and Ireland market and we’re a long way off the cruise penetration in the US market; we see a significant opportunity for further growth.” Princess Cruises’ vice-president of


sales for the UK and Ireland, Eithne Williamson, pointed to continued investment in existing ships. She said: “Every ship has to go through dry dock but there’s bigger investment happening. We’ll see a lot more investment in existing fleets, as well as the building of new vessels.”


16 OCTOBER 2025 11


PICTURES: AGS Photography/Steve Pearcy


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