NEWS CONFERENCE REPORT


Aito Overseas Conference 2018: About 120 delegates heard the best ways to market to clients and future generations and overcome misconceptions of the Middle East. Juliet Dennis reports from Ras Al Khaimah


Generations expert Dr Eliza Filby


Rachel Jelley, Sunvil; Julie Croucher, Travel With Jules; and Suzanne Warren, Sunvil


Filby tells Aito delegates to play the generation game


The trade will need to increase personal service and communication levels to cater for millennial and Generation Z holidaymakers in the future.


Generations expert Dr Eliza


Filby told Aito operators and agents that not only would the up-and-coming generations of clients want customised products, face-to-face interaction and “constant dialogue”, but they would also want holidays that “chime with their values”. Holiday prices will be less important for time-poor millennials in an age of information overload, she said, while personal recommendations and trips that “reinforce their online identity” through channels such as Instagram will be key. Travel is also incredibly important to millennials, who are giving birth to the next generation, the so-called generation alpha, added Filby.


She said: “More than baby boomers and Generation X, travel is their identity. Now they are becoming parents and many are


taking multigenerational family holidays.” Cost will be more important


to the ‘YouTube’ Generation Z clients. “They are the recession generation; they are incredibly savvy. They are serious and sceptical. Travel will also be core to their lifecycle,” said Filby. ilby, who identified millennials as clients born between 1981 and 1996 and Generation Z as clients born between 1997 and 2010, said bosses should also think of millennial employees as “consumers” and use more


democratic methods to run their businesses. She warned: “Millennials


will challenge you more than Generation X. They have more confidence and they want to have a say in the business. “You need to think of your


employees as ‘consumers’ because that is how they view work.” She added that the younger


generations were less likely to stay longer than 10 years in any job, with millennials staying in the same job for three years on average.


Peters: Look at your business differently


Former fighter pilot John Peters, who was captured and tortured in 1990 during the Gulf war, told Aito delegates to take a fresh look at their businesses. Peters, who introduced an open reporting system at the Royal


Air Force to allow pilots to report errors anonymously so the organisation could learn from its mistakes, said: “You need to think differently. Get feedback from customers, share some of your business vulnerabilities, open your company to shared learning. Business leaders influence profits by 15% by the culture and climate they set. Challenge yourself to look at your business differently.”


Travel companies urged to comply with new tax rules


Firms have been warned to comply with new government requirements to file digital VAT records before time runs out. From April 1 next year, as part of HMRC’s Making Tax Digital scheme, all companies with a taxable turnover over £85,000 will have to keep digital VAT records and submit their returns online using compatible, approved software. Jonathan Wall, managing


director of Elman Wall, said the move meant companies not only needed to file their VAT returns online but also had to have compliant accountancy software packages. Companies that have their


own bespoke accountancy system may need to change or update the software they use. Chuck Richardson, managing


director of technology software supplier Dolphin Dynamics, said: “There is a proportion of the market that needs to sit up and pay attention.” Firms that don’t file their


tax returns on time correctly could face “severe financial implications”. Abta has issued guidance about the new rules.


14travelweekly.co.uk29 November 2018


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