After many months of pronouncements and much posturing the CAA has finally issued proceedings against a travel company under their interpretation of the BERR guidance and what constitutes a package. The unfortunate recipient is the market leader in the online dynamic packaging sector, Travel Republic. Twice ABTA and the CAA have jousted in the courts…
A key aspect in the growth and development of an industry is the quality of the management that it employs and generates from within. The Travel Industry has attracted many worthwhile individuals who through a mix of entrepreneurial flair allied to prudence and sensibly applied corporate governance have created and presided over very successful and…
I think some balance needs to be applied in relation to the recent failure of XL and the near hysterical utterances from the larger agents and consortia over the last two months. It was no secret that XL had been in financial difficulty for many months before its demise. Why then did these organisations not…
For the last month or so everything you have read and heard has screamed “the sky is falling in”. However the underlying feeling I picked up at The Travel Convention was that the industry is remaining positive and proactive despite the turbulent times. In the near thirty years that I have advised the travel industry,…
In the last two weeks the failures of airlines Zoom and Futura and travel companies Pure Flights and Brilliant Weekends has merely highlighted that the credit crunch, cost of fuel and adverse currency movements are biting hard in all sectors of the travel industry. We are “only” in early September. Expect more as the month…
In the last month the chief executives of the travel industry’s two largest operators have been singing from the same hymn sheet. Thomas Cook’s Manny Fontenla-Novoa confirmed to the City that “the summer holiday is a must-have” and that his research reflects that holidays are the last thing people skimp on and they will just…
This year promises to bring with it very difficult and turbulent times for the Travel Industry. If I was managing a travel business I would have major concerns on three fronts – currency exchange, fuel prices and the general downturn in market conditions due to the “sub-prime” fallout. Since Summer 2007 Sterling has dropped 10%…
In the first few weeks on 2007 there has been much conjecture in the National and Travel Press on “consolidation” within the four major travel groups. Will it happen? My opinion is that it will and that it will ultimately benefit the entire travel industry. For some years now I, along with a number of…
When should you consider an exit or the sale of your business? Perhaps it is not high on the list of priorities when you set a new business up but, maybe surprisingly, that is when you should reflect upon a future disposal because it is at this time that you can structure and implement procedures…
2006 was not a vintage year for the Travel Industry. Market conditions were tough resulting in many failures, some high profile, and the state of confusion that now exists over Consumer Protection post the Judicial Review and the unedifying squabbling on interpretations of same is a depressing end to the year. Will 2007 bring an…
