Lo Bue-Said, Advantage’s chief executive, criticised the government’s “messaging” about travel in recent days, as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly across the UK, and added the sector had effectively been “shut down by stealth”.
“We need a bit of calm and a pragmatic approach by the government,” she told TTG. “We need a coherent policy to ensure it’s meaningful, with advice that can be followed and not panic.
“Clearly, the last 10 days have had a really detrimental effect on confidence. In the lead-up to Christmas people are taking a cautious approach and there’s been the knock-on impact of Spain and France introducing different restrictions.”
Lo Bue-Said has become the latest travel industry leader to write to chancellor Rishi Sunak to ask for financial support for the sector this week, following a raft of new Covid-19 restrictions from both the UK and other governments, which had caused bookings to “fall off a cliff”.
“We’ve written to Rishi Sunak asking for support for the sector to be able to trade and recover,” she added. “We need financial support and be able to get access to local authority grants. We will need more money because we’ve been stopped from trading – there’s been a shutdown of travel by stealth.”
Bookings for Advantage’s members in December have been down 40% compared with November sales. “Speaking to members, we’re seeing nervousness from customers about bookings in the early part of the new year,” said Lo Bue-Said.
“They’re saying: do I really want to go in January or early February? They are taking a step back to see what’s going to happen over the next two weeks.”
‘Real opportunity’
Lo Bue-Said said that Advantage would continue with its plan to launch its peaks campaign later this month.
“We have to do that – we can’t bury our heads in the sand,” she added. “People still want to book and have something to look forward to.
“There’s a really fundamental message to book through a travel agent for the security and flexibility, and also knowing the right partners to book with. This is where the trade has a real opportunity to help consumers make the right choices.
“We’re investing in peaks and engaging with members to do that. We’re trying to look at it positively: 2022 is going to be the year for holidays, and it’s a year when many families and people will be travelling for first time, hopefully, post-pandemic.”
