NEWS
US gateways eye big bounce-back in UK arrivals
Robin Searle
Major gateway destinations in the US are anticipating a strong rebound from the UK and Ireland in 2022 as international travel fully reopens and customers focus on familiar experiences. Speaking at Brand USA’s Travel
Week in London, NYC & Company chief executive Fred Dixon said New York was forecasting 750,000 British visitors in 2022 and was looking to “accelerate” that figure towards 2019 levels, when 1.3 million visited. He added: “People are going
to turn to destinations they know,
particularly in the beginning.” Discover Los Angeles was even
more bullish, with chief executive Adam Burke anticipating an increase on pre-pandemic numbers and predicting more than 500,000 visitors from the UK and Ireland next year. Across California, tourism chiefs
are predicting UK and Irish visitor numbers at 64% of pre-pandemic levels in 2022 and 90% in 2023. Published figures for 2018 showed just over 870,000 arrivals from the UK and Ireland. Visit Orlando chief executive
Casandra Matej said the destination was yet to set projections, but said
anecdotal reports from airlines suggested forward bookings were “off the charts”, while Destination DC chief executive Elliot Ferguson said he was expecting a gradual start with momentum building once the border reopened on November 8. Visit California chief executive
Caroline Beteta said liaison had continued with airlines and trade partners to be ready for the restart. She added: “We are pretty excited
about lift. We have 72 flights spread across LA, San Francisco and San Diego and then British Airways direct to San Jose. “We have been continuing the
New York
expects 750,000 UK arrivals in 2022
conversations to ensure not only that we have capacity, but that we are also filling up those planes.” All the destination leaders predicted
a strong role for the trade as customers looked for expertise and reassurance to navigate new travel rules. Dixon said the opportunity was
“an enormous boost in the arm for travel agents and tour operators”, while Burke said the pandemic had “elevated” the role of tourist boards and the trade. He added: “Travellers look to us for aspiration and information and they look to the
trade to deliver on that promise.” i US year-round: Destinations, page 30
Travel House switches to Hays IG Juliet Dennis
Wales’ largest independent agency, The Travel House, has joined Hays Travel Independence Group (IG). The Swansea-based 20-branch
miniple had been a member of The Advantage Travel Partnership for about a decade. Founder Martin Morgan, who set
up the family business in 1992, said the move would save £1 million in bonding costs. He said: “I’m a great admirer of
everything Hays has done. It’s been a difficult time and it’s been even harder being a travel agent in Wales. “We’ve moved to Hays because we think it’s a better fit commercially and
travelweekly.co.uk
for the back office and head office. “I run several businesses and
travel has been hit the hardest.” As part of Hays Travel IG, The
Travel House will trade under Hays’ Abta bond and Atol licence and have access to its tour operating products and commercial terms with suppliers. All Hays Travel IG members are
managed service agents, which allows them to focus on sales while the group runs back-office functions. Jacob Hughes, group managing
director at The Travel House, said: “At a time when the industry is facing so much uncertainty, partnering with Hays Travel IG has been fantastic. “Becoming part of the managed service programme allows us to
focus on what our staff love best – selling. We look forward to building a successful working relationship as travel begins to take off again.” The IG support team has spent
two weeks in Swansea training more than 90 Travel House employees. Head of IG Natasha Marson
said: “They have been a real pleasure to train. I’m confident they will continue to grow and be successful.” Leanne Williams, one of The
Travel House’s senior branch managers, said the staff had spent two days training and learnt how to book Hays’ tour operating products. She said access to Hays Travel
The Travel House team has had training on Hays’ systems
Tour Operating “will make us even more competitive on the high street”.
28 OCTOBER 2021 7
PICTURE: Shutterstock/shutterupeire
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