business Essential news, comment and analysis


Panellists, from left: Nicholas Stamenkovic, business breakfast


NatWest; Miles Morgan, Miles Morgan Travel; Jo Rzymowska, Celebrity Cruises; Richard Singer, Icelolly.com; and Alan Cross, Jet2holidays


‘Short-haul is a challenge but overall outlook positive’


Brexit’s impact on eurozone bookings spurs demand elsewhere, say experts at a Travel Weekly Business Breakfast. Amie Keeley reports


Industry bosses have reported a drop in demand for European holidays this summer amid Brexit uncertainty.


Miles Morgan Travel, Celebrity


Cruises and Icelolly.com said the short-haul market was under pressure but customers were turning to long-haul or booking further ahead, which was mitigating the impact. Jo Rzymowska said: “From


72travelweekly.co.uk28 March 2019


a UK and Ireland point of view we’re seeing some reticence for European cruising. But the good news is the US market is not seeing that and long-haul is very strong.” Miles Morgan, owner of Miles


Morgan Travel, said: “Short-haul is more of a challenge, especially the eurozone. But overall the picture is positive – we’ve seen a lot more bookings for 2020 and beyond.” Morgan also said he had seen


a broader mix in the types of holidays being booked, with cruise and escorted tours performing well. “It’s about understanding the


data and what’s going on and backing the winning ticket – stick it in your window and stick it on your website. Go for it!” he added. Richard Singer, chief executive of Icelolly.com, said larger OTAs had bolstered their marketing spend to drive bookings, but added: “The market is 100% softer in European short-haul. When I met with Google six weeks ago, we looked at search terms around


CONTINUED ON PAGE 70


PICTURES: SARAH LUCY BROWN


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  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84