‘Demand is strong for Caribbean’ Travel Weekly reporters


Tour operators and travel agencies have noted strong demand for the Caribbean this year as well as signs of growth in average booking values, but some say clients are deterred by pricing. John Sullivan, commercial director


of the Advantage Travel Partnership, said sales for the Caribbean are up compared with last year, though bookings are “broadly flat”, while The Travel Network Group (TTNG) revealed bookings were “tracking well ahead” of last year. Maxine Bracewell, owner of


Northern Irish agency Travelmax in Ballymena, said: “The team has definitely noticed strong interest in the Caribbean this year, with enquiries well up compared with last year.”


Tour operators also reported


robust demand, with Unique Caribbean Holidays (UCHL), the in-house operator for Sandals and Beaches Resorts, describing the UK market as “strong” while noting demand has been flat against last year. Managing director Karl


Thompson said: “The lates market for the remainder of 2025 is strong, driven in part by some attractive last-minute offers, but most of the bookings through UCHL at the moment are for 2026 dates.” Gold Medal has seen a significant


amount of interest in out-of-date- range trips, with winter months remaining the most popular for departures despite sharp spikes in interest for April and May. Other trends identified by the operator include 32% growth in


Author hails Heapy and Hays for ‘great customer service’


Juliet Dennis


The author of a new book has heralded the bosses of Jet2 and Hays Travel as two of the UK’s best customer-focused leaders but criticised the travel sector for having the biggest gap


between good and bad service. Start with the Customer: How


to Deliver World-class Customer Service has been written by former John Lewis customer experience director Peter Cross, alongside Jo Causon, chief executive of the Institute of Customer Service. Cross, former business partner


6 28 AUGUST 2025


of retail expert Mary Portas, said: “Steve [Heapy] and Irene [Hays] are two of the greatest customer- focused leaders in the country, that’s why the people who work there love it. It all starts with the leaders.” Describing customer service


overall as “going in the wrong direction for 10 years”, he identifies travel as an industry of “extreme highs and lows” with some of the best and worst service globally. Cross said: “There are parts of the


travel industry I don’t think are doing service well at all. The gap between the good and the bad is probably the biggest. There is no industry where


there is such a discrepancy between very good and very bad than travel. It’s an industry of contradictions.” He highlighted airlines as an


example of when customers could be let down, such as lack of support when flights are cancelled. Cross said: “The airline


industry is particularly bad because they disappear when things go wrong. These are the times when human need is at its greatest because you are stranded.” Commenting on the automation


of the customer journey, he said: “When it works it is amazing, but


SPECIAL EDITION TTNG commercial director


Katharina Peck said: “Barbados, Mexico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Antigua and the Bahamas are all cited as key destinations performing well, in some cases with passenger volumes doubling compared with last year. “This strong demand is helping to


group bookings, a rise in average booking values and an increase in durations, with 10 nights the average across most Caribbean destinations. Advantage members reported


average booking values up compared with last year, with Mexico, Barbados and Jamaica the leading destinations for sales, though TTNG reported slightly lower average selling prices amid a trend towards “shorter durations”.


offset concerns around higher prices or restricted availability.” Advantage members also noted


some clients had been deterred by prices, Sullivan said, with the Far East performing better overall due to “great value and product [and] more choice and availability”. Jamaica Tourist Board district


sales manager Torrance Lewis said: “Last year we had our best year ever [for UK visitors], and we expect to have a really good year this year.”


Peter Cross


when it doesn’t work, this is the test of the customer experience.” The book, out on September 8,


quotes Jet2 chief executive Heapy saying: “There is no excuse for not being there for people if things go wrong. Even if you are short-staffed, grab a microphone, hand out bottles of water, take responsibility and people will view the problem differently.” In Hays’ interview for the book,


the Hays Travel owner describes customer service as “the core of everything we do”, and makes a plea for more businesses to follow suit.


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