The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Operators expect surge in bookings after virus
With many countries in lockdown, the impact on the travel industry is huge, but Hugh Morris finds there is optimism
Months of selfisolation could lead to a surge in travel once the world emerges from the shadow of coronavirus. That is the assessment of a number of tour operators and travel agents that have spoken to Telegraph Travel. They are imploring British holidaymakers to defer trips rather than cancel and believe that 2021 could prove to be a bumper year for travel.
This week the Foreign Office advised against all but essential travel to anywhere overseas for an initial period of 30 days due to the spread of coronavirus, leading to a surge in cancellations. While many travel firms are busying themselves with repatriating customers stranded abroad, they also must look to the future. Sam Bruce, director at Much Better Adventures, a tour operator specialising in activity trips, said: “I see no reason why the industry cannot bounce back quickly. I anticipate that we’ll see people realise it’s a good time to book future trips with all the deals and flexibility.
“People still want to travel, perhaps more so after the experience of being shut indoors. The message we’ve been getting from our community, who have decided to push back their trips, is that they want to do the trip and are happy to wait a bit longer for it.”
Henry Fitch, managing director of Teardrop Hotels in Sri Lanka, said most guests are contacting him to defer. He said: “Once there’s more clarity over when the virus will peak, and start to decline, I think we’ll see an increase in reservations from people who cancelled their trips and are keen to get away, so the second half of 2020 and 2021 may well be a busy time.
“I see there being a significant bounce after this lull. The pent-up demand created by self-isolation should ensure a good 2020/21 season.”
Some in the travel industry have already begun to see the positive effect on deferred bookings. Valentina De Santis, owner of Grand Hotel Tremezzo, Lake Como, one of the regions worst affected by coronavirus, said March bookings for next year have been “unprecedented”.
“The number of requests for this forthcoming season is very low, but our moods lift every time we receive enquiries for next year,” she said. “The numbers make us confident of an unparalleled season in 2021.”
Behind the optimism, there is also concern. Analysis of the state of the travel industry this week, as countries moved to shut their borders, has not made for pleasant reading.
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, easyJet and Ryanair have all warned that they would be grounding the majority of their fleets. Norwegian, the low-cost, long-haul airline that was already struggling, said it was to cancel as much as 85 per cent of its flights and lay off 90 per cent of its staff.
ForwardKeys, a travel analyst, has said that 3.3million seats between Europe and the United States will be lost due to bans imposed because of the virus. A report read: “In an incredibly short space of time, this ban has decimated the world’s busiest and most profitable segment of the aviation industry, transatlantic travel.”
The uncertainty faced by tour operators has led to calls for the Government to relax the package travel regulations that require firms to offer customers a cash refund for any cancelled or disrupted trips.
This week Abta, the UK travel association, and Aito, the Association of Independent Tour Operators, called on the Government to do more to support travel businesses.
Justin Wateridge, managing director of Steppes Travel, a Cirencester-based tour operator, warned scores of businesses could go bankrupt. “If tour operators have to refund all this money, cash flow will grind to a halt pretty quickly,” he said.
“We need a relaxation so that client money stays with tour operators and customers postpone their trips. If not, we will collapse. The Civil Aviation Authority will not be able to cope and clients will not be able to get their money back anyway.”
Bharat Gadhoke, the head of commercial for Aito, which represents 120 specialist holiday companies, said operators pay air fares and accommodation in advance and now risk not receiving money from their suppliers, but still need to refund customers. “It would be unreasonable to expect that they be required to abide by the requirements of the package travel regulations,” he said.
“To do so would lead to company collapses and thousands of job losses.”
Tour operators that have spoken to Telegraph Travel said many customers had been understanding in accepting credit for cancelled trips, or allowing holidays to be postponed indefinitely, but said more clients could help.
“By rebooking the trip, travellers are supporting businesses staying in business,” said Jess Dennison, from South America specialist Latin
Routes. “Many of the local communities in the destinations we operate in rely almost entirely on tourists for an income.”
It has been a devastating week for the travel industry, but also one of great resilience and resourcefulness. Among the positive stories to emerge this week are hotel chains offering properties to the NHS as makeshift hospitals, and rental campervans delivering medical assistance throughout Europe.
In London, three hotels near King’s Cross station are offering free stays to travellers stranded on journeys to or from Paris. The Megaro, The Gyle and The California have confirmed to Telegraph Travel that eligible travellers will be given a “safe haven” – with complimentary accommodation and hospitality where required.
In the Lake District, The Ambleside
Inn has stepped in to accommodate a couple forced to cancel their Gran Canaria honeymoon because of the pandemic. Debra and Michael Tweedy had resolved to spend the week at home, but the Inn Collection Group offered them a complimentary break.
“These are tough times for everyone,” said Richard Miller, general manager at The Ambleside Inn. “Knowing we have been able to make a difference to people in a situation like this really does give you a lift.”
In Devon, the Cary Arms Hotel & Spa is offering cleaning supplies and support to vulnerable people in the nearby area. As well as reaching out to its “locals and neighbours”, the luxury property is providing a local cancer hospice with much-needed sterilising sprays – which it produces on-site in an aqueous ozone generator.