NEWS were among topics at Travel Weekly’s Future of Travel Conference. By Travel Weekly reporters


Operator bosses champion the importance of service


T


he complexities of travel amid the pandemic mean the trade is focused more than ever on customer


service to reassure people when they are making bookings. Andrew Flintham, Tui’s managing


director for the UK and northern Europe, said clients booking online in the past would not necessarily have interacted with staff but were now calling contact centres for reassurance. And he said more customers were visiting retail stores, especially for near-term departures, because of the “complexity and uncertainty” of travel. “How people are interacting with


the high street is changing,” he said. “It has re-emphasised the absolute


power of that engagement when people are unsure. “Retail is doing significantly


better than expected compared to online, as people need to talk.” Steve Heapy, chief executive of


Jet2holidays, said the average length of phone calls had doubled from seven to 14 minutes because of the pandemic so the company had more staff to answer the phones and help with issues such as Passenger Locator Forms.


Steve Heapy


“Customers will gravitate to the


companies that treated them well [during the pandemic],” he added. Garry Wilson, chief executive of


easyJet holidays, hailed the support of travel agents, who have been able to sell the operator’s holidays for the past year. “We are really pleased with the


relationship that we have built in the short space of time that we have been working with the trade,” he said. “When we look at the amount the


trade has supported us over the past 18 months, we won’t forget it . . . it has been really significant.” Heapy warned, however, that


travel agents had a “long, hard road to recovery”. “High streets have changed


beyond recognition and will never be the same again,” he said. “Lots of shops closed and there’s not an awful lot of reason to go to town centres. “The government must provide


support to reinvigorate town centres.” ‘Global vaccination will help world to open up’


The travel industry must encourage widespread global vaccination to ensure the world can truly open up, delegates were told. Speakers admitted there was a tendency to look at


reopening through a “UK lens” but argued that a global perspective was essential. Saroja Sirisena, Sri Lanka’s high commissioner to the


UK, said: “The UK has been fortunate to have a regular supply of vaccines. The importance of vaccine sharing is clear. We are not going to be safe until we are all safe. “The world needs to collaborate more. If there are


Saroja Sirisena


travelweekly.co.uk


going to be booster shots or similar then the whole world needs them.” Claudia Miguel, UK director of Visit Portugal, said:


“Until the world reaches a certain level of immunity and vaccinations, we will still risk variants of concern.


“It is amazing to see how different [approaches


are] in different countries, like Germany and Brazil. Brazil can’t afford to lock down. We will continue to have lots of uncertainty, at least from countries where lockdowns can’t happen.” Sirisena said the pandemic had highlighted the


importance of all countries having robust healthcare systems in place, adding: “Countries can’t afford to take their healthcare systems for granted. “Governments can’t cut back on healthcare. It’s


non-negotiable.” Speaking before Sri Lanka was removed from


the UK’s red list, Sirisena also said the Sri Lankan government had been providing the UK with information on a biweekly basis in an attempt to open routes between the countries.


30 SEPTEMBER 2021 11


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