NEWS for the entire industry and T


has never felt more crucial: namely to inform, inspire, connect and support the entire travel industry. Over the weeks and months


ahead, we will continue to do the


following to the best of our abilities: O Bring you the latest news on travelweekly.co.uk, and complement that with advice, opinion and commentary from our leading journalists and contributors, ranging from industry analysts to business experts. Follow our live blog on travelweekly.co.uk and our Travel Weekly Business emails every


weekday morning. O Publish your weekly print magazine. Barring restrictions or barriers to printing and distribution, we commit to publishing Travel Weekly throughout this crisis. This crisis has already had an inevitable impact on edition sizes and content of the magazine, and we have taken steps such as postponing Mystery Shopper visits to allow our readers to focus entirely on immediate business needs. But you can be assured that we will do our best to continue to keep you up to date on the latest from travel suppliers to give you the tools


ravel all, says editor-in-chief Lucy Huxley


to be ready when the time comes to resume business in earnest. O Gather experts on our print,


digital and social media channels to offer you real-time advice and the opportunity to ask the


questions you need answered. O Provide a platform for associations, consortia and travel companies to relay information and guidance and support them in their efforts to lobby government for practical assistance. There is no doubt this crisis


will have a high personal and professional cost for many. But just as it is important to stand together and celebrate success in good times, it is crucial to offer support and solidarity in the worst of times. Everyone at Travel Weekly


and I stand ready to do all we can, and you can be assured of our support throughout this situation and far beyond. Please don’t hesitate to contact me on lucy.huxley@travelweekly.co.uk with any suggestions for how we can continue to help you in these most trying of circumstances.


Abta warns of risk to jobs for ‘tens of thousands’


Harry Kemble T


ravel firms are asking staff to take unpaid leave, freezing recruitment and making roles redundant


as the impact of coronavirus bites harder. Abta warned that hundreds


of businesses, employing tens of thousands of people between them, could collapse in “a crisis of unprecedented scale” as it called for government support. Agencies took precautionary measures. The UK’s largest travel retailer, Hays Travel, offered 5,700 staff voluntary unpaid leave or reduced working hours as it looked to reduce “non-essential expenditure”. Hays said it is reviewing the situation daily. The Travel Network Group is to


online resource centre


amendment forms from Jet2holidays, a business helpline set up by Travel Counsellors and advice on how to access support from Abta LifeLine. You can also find links to the latest Foreign


Office travel advisories. If your company has something to


add to the list or advice to offer that can help other businesses, please email ben.ireland@travelweekly.co.uk.


Explore T ravel Weekly’s resource centre at:


go.travelweekly.co.uk/ resources


travelweekly.co.uk


make 15 roles redundant across the company as the consortium looked to protect its business. Chief executive Gary Lewis said: “We are making sure we are in a position to come through this. But it’s also about giving [agent] members confidence that they should be making these types of decisions.” World Travel Holdings, which


includes Cruise118, River Voyages and Six Star Cruises, said it was “reviewing costs” and warned of redundancies. “I want to protect jobs as best as I am able to,” said managing director Alison Earnshaw. Fred Olsen Travel has frozen


recruitment after four people left the business and allowed one agent to reduce their hours. Head of commercial Paul Hardwick said unpaid leave was an option for the Suffolk-based agency. Agents at


Hopefully things will turn around, but we are only a little agency and we have got a small cashflow


Surrey-based Village Travel have been put on indefinite leave. “Hopefully things will turn around, but we are only a little agency and we have got a small cashflow,” said joint owner Jennie Watson. Worldwide Cruises UK let an


agent who joined two weeks ago leave. “Due to the current situation everything is on the table,” said sales manager Jordan Brewer, who said redundancy will be “the last consideration that we make”. Manchester-based Cruise1st has


asked all staff to reduce their hours temporarily and has set them up to work from home. Abta LifeLine said enquires were


starting to “pick up”. People in need would have to demonstrate “severe financial hardship” to receive help, said director Trudie Clements, who added: “Gaining any additional funds will be challenging this year.” Other parts of the industry have


also been affected, especially airlines. British Airways chief executive Alex Cruz warned of redundancies in a letter to staff titled “The survival of British Airways”; Tui Group imposed a recruitment freeze among its cost- cutting measures; and Norwegian said about 7,300 staff – 90% of its


workforce – would go temporarily. i Business News, page 48


19 MARCH 2020 9


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