Travel seems to be back with a bang as we have campaigns running with Tourism New Zealand and Tourism Australia.  There are also events coming up; WTM in London in early November and Australian Marketplace in mid-Nov.  Both look to be very well attended so it will be great to see some faces from Scandinavia and Europe over in the UK for a catch up.  Very positive that this is all happening again.

Everyone is back from the summer school holidays and we are now right into brochure season.  Most agencies are flat out making brochures with product decisions happening now.  Brochures should all be formatted by now with copy/images decided very soon and proof reading and printing in October.  Staff training on new products (and new staff) in November.

There are more and more events coming up as tourism continues to build back up to pre-Covid levels.  WYSTC is on right now in Lisbon targeting student/youth travel, this is always a great event. Tourism Australia and Tourism New Zealand have trade updates coming in October followed by WTM in London in early November and Australian Marketplace in mid-Nov, really good that this is all happening again.

Australian and New Zealand Tourism has continued to gain momentum with consumer and trade events taking place this month.  There has been lots of follow-up from Kiwi-link UK for everyone that took part and also chasing up those that didn’t attend.  Recruitment is still going at a huge pace as all agents try to rebuild staff levels and quality.

It has also been school holidays in Europe so many staff have been away from already depleted offices and teams so most agencies are behind on projects and sales.  The main target for nearly all long-haul agents is to get their brochures updated as most are running with 2019 brochures with many products no longer available and out of date rates for those that are still operating.  Now is definitely the time to get products in front of product managers, this has very much been my focus this month. 

Australian and New Zealand Tourism is very much kicking into gear this month with events, trainings and offers coming in July and August.

Tourism Australia reported that web searches for flights to Australia are 20% up on pre-pandemic times and forward bookings are continuing to climb and are now at 80% of pre-pandemic numbers.  Average spend is also on the rise, likely due to pent up demand and access to funds.

The general market situation in UK/Scandi and Europe remains with high demand for travel and not enough agents to supply that demand.  Lack of staff in almost every sector of every industry exacerbates this issue as airlines, ground handlers and hotels also struggle to operate efficiently with reduced staff numbers.

It is not all bad news as people are getting away on holidays but the majority of people travelling to Australia and New Zealand are VFR market and are not travelling much once in destination.

And obviously great news here: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/covid-19-omicron-outbreak-pre-departure-tests-into-nz-gone-on-monday/F5TCTPAWCEEFDGOX26WF56IGFY/

And New Zealand is open!!!  Very big news that NZ has followed Australia and the rest of the world and opened for visitors. It is obviously starting with family visiting friends and relatives but everyone else can now book for holidays later in the year. And I can tell you that they are booking!!!

Australian news is that Qantas have announced that they will fly non-stop from London to Sydney https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-61294894  this is clearly great news and good PR for Australia just before ATE

Trailfinders and South Australia Tourist Commission have joined together to promote the working holiday visas and getting backpackers to Adelaide with a £10 offer including flights! https://www.trailfinders.com/special-offers/fly-to-adelaide-for-just-10...

We are back to as close to normal as we are likely to get!!

We have had live travel trade events – PATA Exchange was this Monday in London with lots of suppliers and product managers attending.  Tourism Australia had a reception function on 6th March to launch ‘Don’t go small – Go Australia’.  It is great to get out and see everyone again and see our travel industry restart, really exciting times.

February Update

It is all starting to look like the new normal has started with all restrictions dropped in the UK and most of Europe. Travel is far more simple and no masks are needed.

Australia will open borders on 21st February which is clearly amazing news. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-60284491

I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year’s. It was a bit messy in the UK but far better than last year, so we must be happy with that at least.

Everything seemed to be coming back together again and ready for a great year of travel and then we got the fresh new super-Covid. The good news is clearly that Omicron is far weaker than previous Covid incarnations, so the vast majority of people are suffering nothing more than cold symptoms if any, but it is spreading at a huge rate. So far, I have not had it and I am triple jabbed, so I feel some confidence in either not getting it or only having mild symptoms.

Everything is starting to come back together again seems to be the news for this month. And I have had my #3 booster jab, so I feel bulletproof.

Great to see Virgin and British Airways joining together to promote the USA being open for business from the UK this week https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/nov/08/uk-flights-to-us-heathrow-british-airways-virgin-atlantic

Thailand is open now and Fiji is due to open next week. Australia and New Zealand remain closed for tourism, but both are likely to open early in 2022. No dates have been set, just speculation so far https://metro.co.uk/2021/11/08/when-will-australia-and-new-zealand-reopen-their-borders-15563024/

All sorts of good news this month as Europe starts to return to a new version of normal and countries are opening-up for tourism.

Thailand is opening from 1st November https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-58838189

Fiji is opening from 1st December https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/14/were-ready-fiji-prepares-to-welcome-tourists-almost-two-years-after-closing-borders

The only snags are keeping up to date with rules and the risk of one member of the group/family failing the Covid test before or during the trip.  The rules are changing all the time which reduces customer confidence but the demand for travel and holidays is immense.

All sorts going on this month and a lot to look forward to, and maybe some future concerns as well.

Canada is open for business https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/foreign-travellers-covid-19-vaccinated-border-1.6166650.  This has been great news for UK/Scandi long-haul agents, something to sell at last!  Obviously, there are still no sales for USA, Australia, and New Zealand, not many enquiries either.

USA is not really there yet but getting closer https://www.travelinglifestyle.net/us-reopening-borders-to-tourism-who-can-enter/.   

Staff shortages due to Brexit and Covid 19 have left Nando’s without chicken and McDonalds without milkshakes! https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/58314821.  The big companies are asking for HGV drivers to be allowed to work as ‘skilled workers’ but the UK government is not allowing this as there are plenty of drivers in the UK.  Tesco recently looked for 50 drivers and got 750 applicants, so it is all about pay levels.  Nando’s and KFC issues are processing plant workers, jobs that are low paid and unattractive, previously done by EU workers with Brexit and Covid stopping them returning.

Another flat month for long-haul travel from UK/Europe I am afraid.  All the agents I have spoken to in UK/Scandi are reporting nothing for Australia/NZ and minimal for USA.  The booking/cancelling has all stopped.  The stats for vaccine programs are impressive so potential for travel in the fairly near future is starting to look good.  The image this month is Hayle in Cornwall, all about the staycation!

I was hoping for good news this month, but the new Delta variant has caused some problems with European travel.  The stats for vaccine programs are impressive but all countries opening up for events/gatherings has caused a steep climb in infections.  In further poor news, England failed to win the European Cup this month!  To get to the final was still a great achievement and the team are very young so it all bodes well for the World Cup next year.  Denmark was also special in the Euro’s and thanks for all the comedy comments from Danish friends.

Lots of change this month as various countries get on top of their vaccine programs but unfortunately there is a new variant out there which has interrupted travel around Europe

The UK vaccine roll-out has now gone past 64% of the population having their first jab and over 45% having their second.  The USA is on 53%, Canada is at 66%, Germany is on over 50% and the Scandi countries are all past 40%

The key news for me this month is that I have had jab #2 which doesn’t mean I can go anywhere different, but it does make me feel a bit better/safer. Thanks to new rules in the UK, I have even been inside a pub, been into a restaurant and even got a haircut!

The positive news continues in the UK with lockdown easing and a start to return to some normality of life and economy with holidays abroad being suggested by the Transport Secretary last week https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56682226

17th May is supposed to be the date when holidays abroad are allowed again for UK customers but this has not been confirmed yet https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52646738

Stats from ‘The new rules for travel marketing’ show that over 30% of UK/Scandi surveyed are planning international travel in 2021 with government restrictions being a bigger barrier than health considerations.  Please contact me for a copy of the PDF as it has a lot of interesting points.

I also have a UK marketing study of the new segments of consumers which shows that the average household has saves £7,100 in 2020, that is £197 billion in total, again email me for a copy of this.

The big news for the UK is clearly the vaccine roll-out which is now past 15 million people and should be everyone over 50 (and those younger but at risk) by the end of April.  That will be another 15 million and take the UK vaccinated to over 50% of the population.  Things slow down a bit then as previously vaccinated people return for their second dose but the whole UK population should be vaccinated by Autumn.