NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW 4
Atas Conference values market at £425m this year
Robin Searle Atas Conference, Birmingham
The touring and adventure market grew by 13% year-on- year in the first nine months of 2017 and is on track to be worth in excess of £425 million in 2017.
The figures were revealed
at the inaugural Association of Touring & Adventure Suppliers (Atas) Conference and based on booking data supplied by 19 of the association’s 27 supplier members. It shows consistent year-on-
year growth over the past three years. According to the Atas data, the market was valued at £347 million in 2015, and grew by 8% to £376 million in 2016. If 2017 projections are correct, the £425 million valuation of the market would represent growth of 22%, or £78 million, since 2015. Presenting the figures for
the first time at the conference at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre last week, the association’s chairman, Giles Hawke, said: “Holding our inaugural Atas Conference and being able to provide actual
5 STORIES HOT
Giles Hawke at the first Atas Conference
booking data to track the size of the market is a huge step as we communicate the potential of this sector to our travel agent partners and their customers. “This is a historic moment and it is our moment. This is the start of something big.” However, he warned volumes
were not growing at the same rate as revenues, meaning there was still work to be done to attract more customers to the sector. The data showed that the
average booking value had grown
in the past three years from £1,423 in 2015 to £1,961 in the first nine months of 2017. This increase was largely driven
by a shift in the destinations being booked. Long-haul, including North and South America and Asia, has accounted for a growing proportion of bookings, while Europe’s share, inclusive of the UK, dropped from 63% in 2015 to 51%
in the first three-quarters of 2017. › Full Atas Conference coverage in next week’s Travel Weekly › Talk Back, page 15
5 Koc returns with new luxury operator
Juliet Dennis
juliet.dennis@
travelweekly.co.uk
The founder of failed Turkey specialist Anatolian Sky says he has learnt from past mistakes as he unveils plans for a trade- friendly luxury specialist.
Akin Koc said Diamond Sky
Holidays, which is set to launch as a Travel Trust Association member at the end of November, would not rely on committed aircraft seats or on one or two key destinations, as Anatolian Sky had.
Instead of traditional brochures,
it will invest in a website featuring “better content”, including videos. Anatolian Sky ceased trading
on July 1, 2016, as a result of a downturn in tourism to Turkey after terror attacks in the country. Koc considered leaving the
travel sector, but said: “It’s a shame to waste 26 years’ experience, especially when you have got a passion for something. “I started thinking life has given me a chance to review what went wrong. Although it wasn’t my fault, I thought about what I could
6
travelweekly.co.uk 26 October 2017
do differently to cope better with these situations.” Koc said commitment to airline seats or ground suppliers could “bring you down when things are bad”, as could being too dependent on one destination. But he added: “One thing I won’t compromise on is customer service.” Diamond Sky Holidays will offer small-ship cruises; and
tailor-made and beach holidays to Croatia, Montenegro, Turkey, northern Cyprus, Greece, Slovenia, Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. It also plans to expand into long-haul by offering safaris in Tanzania, South Africa and Kenya, and holidays in Mauritius, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Seychelles and Cuba. Koc believes Turkey is now
“through the worst” and hopes 2018 will be a turning point following changes to immigration and protection to its Syria border. He also said he was “really keen to do business with the trade”.
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 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
