Sales return but PLF ‘is real barrier’ Juliet Dennis


Sales are nearing pre-pandemic levels but agents say the Passenger Locator Form remains a barrier to booking. Travel agents nationwide reported


surging sales this week, particularly for February half-term, Easter and this summer, across short-haul and long-haul, with further rises expected thanks to the removal of day-two on- return Covid tests from February 11. February was the second


most-popular departure month for Advantage Travel Partnership bookings last week, with Tenerife and Lanzarote favourite destinations. A third of sales were for travel before March 31. Long-haul sales to destinations including the Maldives,


the Caribbean and Mexico improved. Polka Dot Travel director Mark


Johnson said sales were “picking up nicely” for summer and lates but stressed Spain’s double-vaccination rule on over-12s remained a “standout problem”. Designer Travel reported its


best-ever sales week last week, with bookings up 44% on the same week in January 2020. Managing director Amanda Matthews said: “All our hard work and positive thinking over the last 20 months is paying off.” She added: “A number of big bookings have been over £120,000 each.” Barrhead Travel president


Jacqueline Dobson said 2022 holidays were “well and truly back on the table”, but predicted tight availability in the summer as demand grows.


Crystal’s GSA calls for ‘patience’ over cruise line’s future


Harry Kemble


Crystal Cruises remains “a live company”, according to the luxury line’s UK general sales agent. Edwina Lonsdale, managing


director of Mundy Cruising and its GSA arm The Cruise Portfolio, sought to reassure the trade the line’s future will be resolved after its parent, Genting Hong Kong, filed for a winding-up petition. She said “hopefully things will


become clearer in the next few days” but warned: “It’s too early and too fluid for anyone to take a


4 27 JANUARY 2022


definitive stance at the moment. The watchword is patience.” In a filing to the Supreme Court


of Bermuda, Genting, which runs Crystal plus Hong Kong-based lines Dream Cruises and Star Cruises, warned it might run out of cash by the end of January. While the number of Crystal


bookings from the UK is relatively low compared with other lines, The Sovereign Cruise Club owner Stefan Shillito said: “It’s at a level where it’s a real concern.” Lonsdale confirmed customer


monies are protected. She stressed: “My priority is to


ensure that everything happens in a measured and orderly fashion rather than a knee-jerk reaction.” Crystal said last week that sailings


of its ocean and expedition ships have been suspended until April 29 and those of its five river cruise vessels until the end of May. Passengers booked on future


cruises are being notified. Crystal pledged to automatically provide full refunds of fares paid “so there is no further action on the guest’s part”. Shillito said Sovereign had more than 50 forward Crystal bookings,


All our hard work


and positive thinking over the last 20 months is paying off


However, sales optimism was


tempered by the “complex and lengthy” PLF for return to the UK, despite the transport secretary’s pledge to “simplify” it. Advantage leisure director Kelly


Cookes said simplification of the form would “break down the barriers for those who want to travel but feel it is too complicated”. Deben Travel owner Lee Hunt,


who reported “busy” sales, said the form was what clients “disliked most”. He said: “They worry about it.”


Agents who complete PLFs for


clients said the task was becoming more onerous as workloads increased. Pole Travel director Jill Waite,


whose sales this month were about 80% of January 2020, said: “It can be a struggle; it takes so much time. It could be two pages instead of 15.” Tivoli Travel director Jo Richards


added: “A lot of people are not booking because they can’t be faffed with the forms.” She estimated 75% of enquiries


were converting into sales. The agency’s Mirfield branch has taken more bookings so far in January than the equivalent period in 2020. Travel Designers director Nick


Harding-McKay reported “much improved” sales but said the removal of the PLF would “help us all”.


Crystal Endeavor


including one for £250,000 made last month for the line’s 2024 World Cruise. “I’m very confident our clients will


go on that cruise,” he said. “We’re very confident Crystal will rise from the ashes. When it does, we’ll be there.” Alison Earnshaw, managing


director of Six Star Cruises parent World Travel Holdings, said staff were working with affected customers on alternatives for “a very small number” of forward bookings. Earnshaw called for clarity about


the line’s future, adding: “There’s still a lot to unravel”.


travelweekly.co.uk


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