BUSINESS NEWS Leaders in Travel Summit: Hosted by Elman Wall and Xeinadin Group in London. By Ian Taylor


Recruitment expert predicts shift back to office working


A leading travel employment specialist has questioned whether the move to hybrid and homeworking will continue despite the pressures on recruitment. Barbara Kolosinska, managing


director of C&M Travel Recruitment, said: “Traditionally, travel was a candidate-driven market with very few hybrid or home-based roles and salaries were comparatively poor.” She said: “Hybrid/homeworking


is the norm [post-pandemic]. Candidates just won’t accept anything else. But I don’t know if that will be the case in future. We notice some candidates wanting more office work. Full-time office work could return for some, especially when businesses want to train people.” Kolosinska noted: “We lost a lot


of talent from the industry [and] last year was the busiest ever for travel recruitment. Our placements were up 26% on 2019. [Employment] packages have improved. The average salary rose almost 12% last year.” She added: “Nearly all travel


companies still have vacancies.” However, she said: “Vacancies are


Barbara Kolosinska


Travel ‘has fallen down the agenda of the government’


down [and] candidate numbers are higher than in the last five years.” Yet Kolosinska warned: “The


pipeline shortage [of recruits] will affect us all. The industry needs to think how to attract talent.”


Leaders told to ‘use your influence to decarbonise’


Travel industry leaders have been told to “act now” and use their positions to speed decarbonisation of the sector. Susan Hooper, director of the


Chapter Zero group of non-executive directors campaigning for action on climate change, told the Leaders in Travel Summit in London last week: “Climate change is an existential issue and this decade is absolutely critical. We have to halve emissions by 2030. “The only time we’ve seen


emissions fall was in 2020 and think what disruption it took. “We need that to happen every


year for 10 years, but we have gone backwards since. It’s not going to be comfortable, but the longer we leave it the more difficult it will be.” Hooper, a former managing


director of British Gas residential services, who has served on the boards of Wizz Air, Uber UK and other companies and headed the travel division of Acromas Holdings when the group owned Saga Travel


travelweekly.co.uk


be significantly higher than the cost of action today.” Cooper argued low-cost travel


would rapidly become “a thing of the past, because someone has to pay for it”, and insisted: “We should be capping airport capacity.” She argued: “You’re all going


Susan Hooper: ‘We need to act’


and Titan Travel, noted: “I was on the boards of six companies and climate change wasn’t on the agenda of any of them.” She told the summit, hosted by


Elman Wall, part of the Xeinadin group of accountancy and advisory firms: “I encourage you all to make the most of your influence. Baby steps have no place in this. It’s not business as usual any more. “The cost of inaction five to 10 years from now is likely to


to have carbon accounts in your businesses in five years. It’s going to be seismically different and it’s better to start now. We’re not on an emissions-reduction glide path. “Recognise the financial risks,


build business capabilities and make decisions to advance the transformation. We need to act. We can’t put it off any more.” Hooper called for a move away


from discussing ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues, saying: “I’m not a fan of ESG – social and governance issues distract. We’re talking about fundamental environmental change and it’s time- boxed. Don’t water down your focus by trying to cram everything in.”


27 APRIL 2023


Senior industry figures have warned the pandemic-era “fight” with the government “is not over”, with travel slipping down the political agenda since the lifting of restrictions. Julia Lo Bue-Said, Advantage


Travel Partnership chief executive, told the summit: “Our industry is not front of mind of this government. We’re not getting the engagement we need. As an industry, we have to recognise the areas we want to improve and how we want [things] to change.” Of her own role during the


pandemic, Lo Bue-Said – who spoke up for the industry in multiple media appearances – said: “A leader can’t hide in a crisis. You have a duty to deliver. You have to step up.” Suzanne Horner, chief executive


of Gray Dawes Travel, agreed: “The fight is not over with the government. But my fear is we’re all too busy. We couldn’t get 500 people on an industry call now.” However, UKinbound chief


executive Joss Croft insisted: “We have a huge number of leaders. In March 2020 it was the members who demanded the association step up.” Croft argued: “The structures


established during the pandemic are still there. I don’t agree the collaboration is lost.” The problem, he suggested, is that “the political environment changes . . . and we have a whole set of new ministers”.


Julia Lo Bue-Said 47


Sarah Lucy Brown


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