CONVENTION


Harvey predicts changes in marketing spend for peaks


G


rowing cost-of-living challenges will make the travel market increasingly


competitive and companies more careful with marketing budgets in the January peak sales period. That is according to Der Touristik


UK marketing director Dean Harvey, who said: “The marketing spend will be there in January, but it will be spent differently.” Harvey said he would spend


more on digital channels and reduce spending on traditional media and insisted: “I’ll be prepared to dial down spending quickly. “Traditional media need to catch


up with digital media on that [being able to increase or reduce spending quickly].” Suzanne Korff, Princess Cruises


UK and Europe marketing and communications director, said: “The market will become more competitive.”


She argued: “Trust, authenticity


and having Atol-protected product will be important, plus value. But value doesn’t have to mean cheap.” Lisa McAuley, owner and managing


director of Silver Travel Advisor, added: “Usually January becomes a bun fight as everyone spends more and more. Trust is the number-one currency in travel right now.” Harvey argued the pandemic had


Dean Harvey


changed travel marketing. He told delegates: “Pay-per-click marketing on Google was the crack cocaine of this industry. The pandemic allowed people to pause that.” But he said: “The fragmentation of


media and reduced marketing budgets has made marketing more difficult. “We’re also seeing a real rise in the


use of radio because of the way we’re working from home, spending more time at home with the radio on in the background.” Korff noted the costs of customer


relationship management (CRM) had risen 10%-15% year on year and advocated “bridging marketing and PR”.


She also noted: “We’ve been


working with influencers. We don’t expect that audience to book a cruise now but expect them to in the long term.” Harvey suggested the term ‘influencer’ is “just a rebrand of celebrity marketing and celebrity endorsement”.


‘Downturn’s impact will vary between groups’


The UK faces an economic downturn that will be “shallow” yet “prolonged”, but higher income groups should be relatively “shielded” and travel remains “well-placed” to prosper, according to industry analysts. PwC leisure strategy director


Eleanor Scott noted: “The UK economy is forecast to decline in the coming months. “One driver is high inflation


which we were expecting to peak at about 18%. Now, with the energy price cap, we expect it to peak at 10%-11%. “Incomes are going up but not


14 20 OCTOBER 2022


Eleanor Scott


enough to offset this, so households face a decline in income comparable to the global financial crash but over 12 months, not three years, so it will feel hard.” Scott forecast the downturn


“will be relatively shallow but relatively prolonged”. However, she said: “High income groups will be relatively shielded and less impaired. Their income is growing.” She added: “Household savings


were huge during Covid but concentrated in higher income groups so there is a high disparity between groups.”


Bouldin: Hike in mortg


The soaring costs of mortgages are a “really worrying” challenge for travel on top of other cost-of-living fears as winter approaches, warned Ben Bouldin, EMEA vice-president at Royal Caribbean. Bouldin cited a Bank of England


warning that there is an increased risk of “significant” numbers of mortgage defaults amid rising interest rates. The caution came amid the market chaos following the government’s mini-Budget last month. “If you have a £300,000 mortgage and


are negotiating a new fixed rate, you will see a £600 increase per month – that’s a


Abta chair Alistair Rowland (left) and chief executive Mark Tanzer flank Arzu Yilmaz, UK director of the Turkish Tourism Board, as the association announces Bodrum will host the 2023 Travel Convention


The Travel Convention 2022: The outlook for the travel sector amid the growing Lisa McAuley


travelweekly.co.uk


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