NEWS TRAVEL WEEKLY FUTURE OF TRAVEL CONFERENCE 2023
Steve Heapy, Jet2;
Andrew Flintham, Tui; and Garry Wilson, easyJet holidays; at Future of Travel conference with Lucy Huxley, Travel Weekly
Upbeat trade chiefs bullish over 2024 demand outlook
Robin Murray and Juliet Dennis
Leading tour operators and travel agencies are bullish about the sector’s prospects for 2024 but there was a warning that prices could “flatten out” as capacity rises and cost-of-living pressures continue. The heads of three of
the UK’s largest operators told Travel Weekly’s Future of Travel Conference they were confident robust sales would continue into next year. Jet2 and Tui have already
quantity to repair “reputational debt” incurred by poor customer service displayed by some travel companies during the pandemic. He said: “There needs to be a
STORY TOP
focus on quality from trustworthy companies rather than an all-out movement to try to get as many customers as possible. We’ve got a lot of reputational debt to make up as an industry.” Both Heapy and Tui
Northern Region managing director Andrew Flintham
admitted they would not know if
announced their biggest-ever programmes for summer 2024, while easyJet holidays recently outlined major growth plans. But
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays
chief executive Steve Heapy stressed the need for quality over
travelweekly.co.uk
capacity hikes were the right move until the end of summer 2024. But Heapy said the company
felt “confident”, while Flintham said “sustained late demand” and “positive research” suggested extra capacity was justified. Flintham said: “We’ve added
capacity pretty much everywhere. We
haven’t got particular pinpoints where we’re hoping something will work.” EasyJet holidays chief executive
Garry Wilson shared the bright outlook for 2024 after revealing the operator had grown faster than he expected since it started selling through agents in August 2020. He said: “We are seeing, through
searches, research and what agents are telling us, that demand is still there.” All three urged business
owners to offer value for money in 2024 to combat ongoing pressures on household budgets. Leading agency figures shared
the optimism about next year as sales continue to “smash targets” but predicted customers would shorten holiday durations, reduce trip frequency and cut back on discretionary spend. Travel Counsellors, Barrhead
Travel Group and Booking. com said pockets of the market would
be hit by the cost-of-living crisis, with cruise and premium travel the least impacted. Travel Counsellors managing
director Kirsten Hughes said mortgage-holders, in particular families, were most likely to reduce spend, but added: “I’m not overly concerned.” She predicted average booking
values could “flatten out” next year, although not to 2019 levels, a view echoed by Travel Trade Consultancy director Martin Alcock. He said: “Prices on average
might come down but the key thing is [retaining] profit margins.” Barrhead Travel president
Jacqueline Dobson said customers had already begun to switch to “slightly shorter” durations and all-inclusive options. She said: “It’s not so much about price. It will be important we offer value next year.”
28 SEPTEMBER 2023 5
PICTURES: Sarah Lucy Brown
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