Bulletin 14 from Michael Edwards, Managing Director
Introduction
Mid-September and rather than the world opening up, there is trepidation as to what destinations will stay open and what may close. I have spoken to many of our customers about the current state-of-play over the last couple of weeks. I think we are all desperate for the government to recognise the turmoil and financial constraints our much-loved industry is operating within.
It appears madness to me that, at this time (6 months in to the worst crisis our industry has faced), we are not yet seeing a joined-up approach from the government ( in terms of quarantine, testing, support) and from the airlines, hotels and ground handlers to give the general public confidence to book foreign travel again. We are an industry that relies upon each other. In normal trading we can live with occasional challenges. However, now we need to find a way to come together with a real understating of each other’s pressures. What we can do together to truly provide a product that customers have confidence in?
Sadly, there does not appear to be an appropriate forum where such issues can be debated and resolved. For our part, as your flights’ provider, we are in constant liaison with the airlines presenting the case on behalf of our tour operators. Aside from a few ‘wins’ , we have not yet seen solid traction and a shift to a more aligned approach. We will keep trying!!
On a more encouraging note, our We Are With You plans have been very well received as positive, practical measures to support you. To further assist, we thought it would be worthwhile sharing our forward booking picture as it does draw positives looking into 2021, as well as other initiatives.
To read Bulletin 14 in full please click here