Atol consultation likely to be delayed Ian Taylor


The government’s planned Atol reform will not be in place from the Civil Aviation Authority’s target start date of April 2024, with a long-anticipated consultation on detailed proposals unlikely to appear before next year. Industry representatives met


Department for Transport and CAA officials on Tuesday and heard work continues on the proposals following a CAA ‘Call for Further Evidence’ issued in January. A statement is expected to


confirm the delay to the consultation, which had been expected this autumn. The CAA first proposed changes to the Atol scheme in a consultation published in April 2021.


Travel Weekly understands the


CAA remains keen to proceed with reforms that are likely to include a requirement to segregate customer money and move to a variable rate of Atol Protection Contribution (APC). The CAA declined to comment


on when the consultation might now appear. Its head of Atol, Michael Budge, was due to speak at an Abta Travel Regulations Conference in London on Wednesday. Alan Bowen, legal advisor to the


Association of Atol Companies, said: “We won’t see the Atol consultation this year.” He forecast a consultation would appear next year but suggested: “Whether it comes into effect is another matter.” Bowen believes the CAA has moved away from imposing trust


Virgin Voyages vows to enhance UK market focus


Josie Klein


Virgin Voyages has pledged to place a greater focus on the UK market, admitting it has “underinvested” in the past. Speaking on a Travel Weekly


webcast, Virgin Voyages’ new chief executive Nirmal Saverimuttu emphasised the importance of the UK market and outlined plans to invest more in the UK sales team. “The UK is a hugely important


market for us and we’ve under- invested in the UK in the past, so we want to make sure we


4 16 NOVEMBER 2023


change that going forward,” he said. “In the Mediterranean, about 30% of our customers are from the UK, but I would love to see that number close to 60%. “We have a full investment


plan for the UK sales team, which I’m very proud of, but it needs more support from us.” Saverimuttu said the line had


welcomed “thousands” of agents, who it calls ‘First Mates’, on board this year and encouraged more trade partners to experience the product to give them “confidence” to boost their sales.


“We’ve heard loud and clear from


our First Mates that they want to feel confident that they know what the product is so they can sell with confidence to their Sailors, and that’s fair enough, so we know we need to make that investment,” he said. “For [agents] who haven’t yet


sailed, the opportunity is there and we’d love for you to come on board.” Saverimuttu conceded the


line “made some mistakes” with its initial branding when it was launched, giving the impression it was targeting party-going millennials instead of its key demographic.


We won’t see the


consultation this year. [It will be next year but] whether it comes into effect is another matter


arrangements on Atol holders but remains likely to require holders to segregate customer money in client accounts. A senior industry source blamed


the Department for Transport for the delay, with ministers preoccupied with political manoeuvring ahead of a general election expected late next year. A Cabinet reshuffle on Monday saw key changes at the head of the Home Office and Foreign


Office although there was no change in ministers responsible for travel, transport or business regulation as Travel Weekly went to press. Acting tourism minister John


Whittingdale suggested last week that industry lobbying of government had become “better coordinated”, noting: “It’s something the industry sought to address [and] we’ve definitely made progress.” But he told Travel Weekly the sector remains “fragmented”, with “different views expressed by different bodies”. Julia Lo-Bue Said, chief executive


at The Advantage Travel Partnership, hailed Whittingdale’s remarks as “encouraging” but said: “With an election looming, we need to


increase our momentum.” i King’s Speech, page 54


inset: Nirmal Saverimuttu “We made some mistakes in


terms of how we originally marketed the brand and there were some misperceptions about it,” he said. “A lot of people thought it was


for young people who wanted to party, but the reality is it’s very sophisticated. “We’re making an active effort to


redress those misperceptions formed at the beginning, and show our core product [targets] people in their 40- 60s who love great food, great service and are looking for that attention to detail you typically associate with more luxurious products.”


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Scarlet Lady;


PICTURE: Kathy Boos Photography


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