Competitors measure up to ABTA

Advantage and Worldchoice are stepping in to offer a competitive alternative to ABTA membership. ABTA has had to reshape itself and will have to find millions of pounds to get back into financial equilibrium. Competitors are now emerging from the shadows just when ABTA is in it's weakest moment. That said, any organisation that is going to underwrite a significant amount of business is going to need a lot of funds to call on.

The trouble really began when ABTA stepped away from it's 100% guarantee, and the rot set in when it upped it's rates last year. At this stage it looks like ABTA are not going to make and knee-jerk reactions, choosing instead to give assurances to it's members and trust that their 'goodwill' will stand them in good stead. This is the first time that ABTA's dominant position has been challenged, they would do well to consider how they can best serve their clients to keep them on side.

How green is your travel?

The travel industry is under a lot of pressure today from various different angles. Firstly there was the massive hike in fuel prices that have had disastrous effects across the industry, followed closely by a global recession which has decimated travel order books for the coming months. All the time there is the spectre of environmental considerations looming in the background, as the travel industry has been highlighted as a major user of fossil fuels. Not only the travel companies themselves, but their clients too where they are part of large corporations, municipal bodies or charities are obliged to examine their carbon footprint and declare publicly that they will pledge to be 'green'.
There are a number of options that the travel companies can pursue to paint a greener picture and turn the situation to their advantage with some clever Travel Marketing.
Carbon off-setting is a popular way to give the right impression, but there are other avenues such as being associated with research into new fuels and technologies. All industries should be working towards showing willingness to be greener, but the travel industry in particular needs to give assurances to their customers, that they are concerned about environmental issues. This could be done simply by replacing any fleet road vehicles that they might own with dual-fuel or green fuel vehicles. The impact on the public is not so much in the detail as in the way in which this is publicly perceived - that's the beauty of marketing.

Holiday brochures delayed

Some holiday companies are delaying the release of their Summer 2010 holiday brochures due to fears over the effects of the recession. They are concerned with concentrating on selling 2009 holidays as a priority and will probably not release brochures in April/May time as usual.
The facts and figures show a downturn of 15% in holiday sales in January, and it has to be said that for those that are cutting back, the family holiday is bound to be a prime consideration. This corresponds with the upturn in UK holidays blamed partly on recession cut-backs and partly on the weak pound. Delaying the printing of brochures means that editions could be amalgamated so that only two 2010 editions would need to be produced instead of the more traditional three.
There is every likelihood of the pound recovering some of it's lost ground (as long as Alistair Darling doesn't get his way and starts printing money), but the wider effects of the recession are likely to be with us through into 2010.

Holiday Bargains

The US has always been a place where bargains are to be had, this is why shopping trips to New York are so popular, even in these harsh economic times where the pound hardly holds it's own against the dollar. Traditionally things like electronics and even motor vehicles carry a price tag in dollars which is equivalent to our prices in pounds - ie. a £20,000 car can be had for $20,000 stateside.
There is one commodity I have found that even beats the dollars for pounds price reverse, and surprisingly it turns out to be spectacles. Now I am sure that the US has it's fair share of pricey opticians, but the eyeglasses I am referring to are from one website in particular. This website 'zennioptical.com' has recently been featured in a New York Times article about how to get the best deal when buying new glasses. The 'Zenni' website was hailed as providing 'bargain' spectacles for as little as $8, pointing out that the average price for frames alone is $118!
Take the example above, titanium bendable memory frames for $12.95 including lenses... If you know your prescription, you can have these made and shipped out to you. If you fancy a trip to California to pick up your glasses, think of how much you will save and offset that against the price of your ticket..
I have not yet had the need to get glasses but as I get further into my forties I am just putting off the inevitable... If I'd have found glasses that looked this good for this price before now, I would have been more than happy to hear that I finally needed some specs. Of course with my habit of sitting on nearly every pair of sunglasses I have ever had, the bendable frames would be a must!

ATOL debt rises

The fund that gets stranded holidaymakers back home now has a bigger hole than ever in it's finances after the recent problems in the travel industry, and with less take-up of holidays expected over the next few years it is difficult to know how this hole is going to be plugged.
The fund has recently paid out £90m in circumstances where the corresponding bonds were only worth £48m, adding to the pre-existing £20m deficit - meaning that ATOL is now £40m in the red. Reports say that the fund has a £60m overdraft facility that the bank (Barclays) may not be extending, needless to say one more major collapse could see ATOL sunk. There is a £250m insurance with AIG, but as AIG itself is not exactly financially independant at the moment. Revenue may be increased through the APC in October, but October is a long way off...

Pontins on the up

Pontins is experiencing a Renaissance with UK travellers staying at home this year. Following announcement of a £50million investment plan, the traditional UK holiday company are advertising for 2000 new workers to meet the demand of new bookings coming in.
Why is this?
Two reasons as far as I can see:
1) The upsurge in UK holidays is due in part to caution over spending in these harsh economic times.
2) The drop in pound sterling against the Euro has meant that European travel is far too expensive for many holiday-makers, and Europe makes up a significant proportion of our overseas holiday-making.
In a way this is a reverting to the type of holidays popular twenty or thirty years ago. In the seventies, UK-based holidays would have had a massive share of the UK vacation market. Over the years, these holiday-makers have established Spain as their preferred destination building up a huge British-oriented industry in pockets of the Spanish coastline. The 'Butlins' and 'Pontins' culture was exported to the sun, sea and sangria. With Spain and other European resorts (Disney Paris, Cote D'Azur The Greek Islands) off the menu, suddenly the old favcourites are back in favour, and the British tourist can be found thumbing through Yellow Pages for their next holiday rather than a glossy exotic travel brochure.