VIRUS THREATENS BIKE TRAVEL TRADE

BikeTour operatorsface uncertain future in 2020

Aswe went to press in early April, Britain's motorcycle tour operators were facing a bleak 2020 as bikers cancelled holidays, due to coronavirus. "It'll be tough for everyone;' said David Grist, MD of H-C Travel, one of the longest established tour companies, which specialises in rental bike trips in North America, South Africa, India and New Zealand. "We are ATOL protected, so customers' money is always safe, and we have supplier failure insurance, though that doesn't help when we are owed money by other people:'

Meanwhile, the major insurers have announced they will not be offering travel insurance at least until the end of June, another factor undermining the public's decision whether to book a trip, especially a relatively high cost one like New Zealand.

When we spoke to David, he had cancelled all H-C's April holidays, was about to do the same for May and cancellation of all June trips looked "extremely likely:' "Our problem is that this is open -ended. We know that Canada is closed until at least June 30, but we don't know how long the USA will shut down for. So at the moment we can't just offer customers an alternative date. We are encouraging customers to look at booking later in the year rather than leaving it until 2021 - that way they can still get their trip done this year:'

H-C's winter trade, which includes South Africa and New Zealand, looks to be less affected. The national operators have just finished a season, so can afford to have a few months without bookings and hope that things pick up late 2020. But for those dependent on North America, the future doesn't look bright. Eaglerider , which runs a fleet ofup to 5000 Harley Davidson rental bikes, is a case in point, with lockdown putting a stop to all leisure riding . Meanwhile, back in Britain, H-C finds itself squeezed. It has refunded money to customers who have cancelled, but is still owed funds by the airlines and bike hire companies. ''.Any company that has to write off 50% of the year is going to face a problem;' says David Grist.

Things look easier, or at least less complicated, for the operators of European tours where customers ride their own bikes. As long as hotels and ferries are available, tours can be rebooked, though here again most of the summer business may be lost. Paul Fitzgerald, MD of Wild Irish Tours, had also cancelled his May bookings when we spoke, and thought June would suffer the same fate. ''I'm pointing people towards September;' he said, "and running an extra tour then. I'll also be offering Spanish trips over the winter, more of a holiday than a full-on bike tour, either guided or self-guided. I want to keep people on their bikes and keep them touring:'

As for the future, David Grist thinks the long -term effects of coronavirus could be far reaching. "In two years;' he said, "we could be facing a very different landscape:'