NEWS
It’s ironic there’s a phrase meaning to see everything clearly – 20:20 vision.
For the travel industry, 2020 has been more a
vision of hell; it could be called The Year of the Unthinkable. So much of what’s happened has led so many in our industry to think the unthinkable and enact the unimaginable. Sectors believed to be impervious ground to
Derek Moore DEPUTY CHAIRMAN, AITO, AND CO-FOUNDER, EXPLORE
We have a golden opportunity to effect real change in travel
a halt. Airlines have long fought against a levy on all fares, arguing big carriers would never fail. Yet aviation has been hit on an unimaginable scale. And the cruise industry, having diversified hugely, now finds itself with ships quarantined and cruising banned by government. No one imagined government knew so little
about our industry’s workings or that it would seemingly ignore our plight – without income for 12 months – or the plight of staff, working flat out to handle refunds, only to be furloughed or fired.
Loss of faith The Package Travel Regulations 1992 – a vastly different time – are now unfit for purpose, regardless of 2018 tweaks. Government and travellers (understandably on their part) failed to comprehend rules that expected companies to refund from empty bank accounts, while those with the resources sadly crowed about refunding customers. Despite decades of hard work and great holidays, clients won’t forget the lack of refunds, through no one’s fault. A key reason refunds were difficult was that
airlines would not refund operators. With airlines playing hardball on one side and government playing dumb on the other, travel businesses were squeezed by unimaginable forces. The result is that
many travellers have lost faith in operators and agents. Struggling to find crumbs of positivity, I finally
found a few. Agents fought hard for their clients, handling refunds despite abuse, working all hours to rebook and get clients home. The light in the dark was amazing stories of agents – some about to run out of cash and close down – going the extra mile. The industry, and travellers too, showed big hearts in difficult times. Charitable support has been unimaginable, and a silver lining. Travel always adapts quickly. Adventure
operators created UK trekking programmes, while one entrepreneur ran boat trips to view the armada of cruise ships anchored offshore.
Chance for change So what of 2021? There’s certainly pent-up demand and my best guess for normality resuming is ‘perhaps spring, definitely summer’. Many operators’ programmes will be smaller. Scheduled flights may be fewer, although Jet2 and easyJet, with inhouse aircraft/ tour operations, are boasting a swathe of new seats. While we await vaccines to deliver a return to
near-normality, we have a golden opportunity. We can redesign our industry, make flying match demand and encourage people to fly less and stay longer. Specialist operators and agents may seize the moment to make travel more sustainable; larger operators probably won’t. With Aito, Lata, Pata and Atta discussing how to effect real change in travel, we must strive to bring sustainability to the fore in 2021. Not to do so would be unthinkable.
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12
17 DECEMBER 2020
travelweekly.co.uk
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