Nicki Tempest-Mitchell, Barrhead Travel sales and marketing director, and Mark Duguid, managing director of luxury specialist Carrier, told delegates they could not afford to let their personal approach diminish.

Tempest-Mitchell said “hand-holding” meant it was not uncommon to speak to customers four times per booking, particularly when it came to deciphering different Covid requirements. “As a customer, if you go onto a government website, that’s quite daunting; go back to good old-fashioned hand-holding.”

This approach worked with ancillary sales, she said. “Say to them, ‘dream about what you want to do overseas’," said Tempest-Mitchell. "Make sure they have booked all the things they want to do.”

Duguid said agents had stolen a march on the internet during the pandemic: “My big hope is that it continues. There is almost a renewed confidence among travel advisors.”

He said Carrier was one brand that had earned a good reputation during the pandemic and was now capitalising on it. “Some weeks last year, 50% of bookings were from agents we would not normally engage with.”

Both urged the trade to enthuse consumers. “It used to be when going on holiday that it was really fun leading up to it, and I think that’s gone,” said Tempest-Mitchell.

Duguid said the industry needed “to get back to that, the joy of what we do”: “It’s not just for the client," he said. "The joy of selling travel has not been there because it has all been amendments and cancellations.” 

Both were optimistic about 2022. “More people are spending more,” Tempest-Mitchell said. “People have held back for 18 months, demand is there.

"We’re aligning our sales team to make sure holidays are not about the best price, but about the right holiday for the customer. Five per cent of our business is for 2023 and beyond: we’ve even taken bookings for 2024.”

Tempest-Mitchell added agents needed more domestic product to sell following the success of staycations over the past 18 to 20 months. “Over the years, it [domestic] has become quite a direct sell. It is an opportunity, but we have to make sure we have the product to sell.”

Duguid echoed Tempest-Mitchell’s comments on increasing levels of spend, revealing Carrier was "up 37% against 2019 spend".

He said private jet usage and “property buy-outs” by multigenerational families had contributed to this increase. “Since September, it has been ferocious. Our issue is not one of demand, it’s one of capacity.”

Tempest-Mitchell said Cop26 had brought sustainability to the forefront. “Customers want to know what their carbon footprint is throughout their holiday purchase,” she said.

However, Duguid said the issue rarely came up over the phone. “I think they [consumers] expect us to have already thought about it.”