NEWS


and cruising’s contribution to the economy were among topics of T PR EXPERTS


Rachel O’Reilly


Danny Rogers


Paul Charles Andy Harmer


‘Firms that don’t do the right thing will suffer’


T


he Covid-19 pandemic will enhance those travel brands that “did the right thing” and expose those


that didn’t, according to PR and communications experts. Danny Rogers, editor-in-chief of


PR Week, said: “Companies that have got a good culture, that are well set up in terms of customer service and that tend to have an ethical compass will come out of this OK. “But companies that have been


cutting costs on customer service, or been trying to hoard cash or whatever other unethical practices, they’re the ones that will suffer.” Rogers added: “I don’t think


there’s a blanket thing that every travel company can do to come through this, but it’s about doing the right thing. Ethical behaviour or corporate purpose will only become more and more important over the next six months. “Travel needs to be doing its


best to act in the right way in the long-term interest of the consumer, otherwise it could have a serious long-term reputation problem.”


travelweekly.co.uk Paul Charles, founder and chief


executive of The PC Agency, said: “It goes back to trust. There are owners and CEOs of larger companies who are not realising this is going to be about long-term relationships, that we’re all in it together. “They need to be paying back


[refunds] fast in order to protect the whole chain of the industry. And if you don’t pay back, you’ll find that some of your key agents go under, which can’t be right at all, so they should be paying back.” Charles added that not all the


problems were deliberate. “It’s also because they furloughed so many people, or the customer services teams are so busy. They simply haven’t got the admin in place.” Rachel O’Reilly, Kuoni’s director


of communications, said the operator and agency had 50 staff in its virtual call centre within two days of the lockdown. “We’re a customer service brand; we have to have enough people to deal with our customers,” she said. “We weren’t a homeworking business – we had stores – but we moved very quickly.”


Watch these and upcoming T


ravel Weekly webcasts at: go.travelweekly.co.uk/webcasts Clia counts cost of cruising T


shutdown on UK economy When cruising does


he cruise industry can have an “important impact” on the recovery of the UK economy


“when the time is right” for sailings to restart, says Clia’s UK & Ireland director, Andy Harmer. Clia analysis released last week


suggested more than 5,500 UK jobs could be at risk as a result of an extended shutdown of the cruise sector due to the coronavirus crisis. All lines have suspended sailings,


with Fred Olsen Cruise Lines last week announcing an indefinite cancellation of sailings by its four ships beyond May 23, after originally stopping cruises on March 13. Harmer stressed that the


industry’s impact on the economy stretched beyond the ports to a wide range of supporting suppliers, “from food manufactuers to carpet fitters”. He said that up to 530 jobs could


be lost for every 1% drop in UK passenger numbers, adding that for each additional day that cruises are suspended, 55 jobs are directly lost or 139 including indirect job losses.


restart, it can have an important impact on the UK’s recovery


Clia released figures predicting


the impact of cruising’s suspension for two months and three months. For a 60-day cruise shutdown,


it anticipates a direct impact on the UK sector of £539 million, 3,350 jobs and £174 million in wages, and on the wider UK economy a total economic loss of £1.43 billion, 8,359 jobs and £454 million in wages. For a 90-day shutdown, it


predicts a direct economic loss for the cruise industry of £888 million, 5,525 jobs and £287 million in wages, and a loss for the UK economy of £2.37 billion, 13,788 jobs and £746 million in wages. Harmer said: “When cruising


does restart its operations, when the time is right, it can have an important impact on the recovery of the UK economy.”


ravel Weekly’s latest webcasts CLIA’S ANDY HARMER


30 APRIL 2020


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