That was the verdict of a panel at the association’s general meeting in London.
Travel Stop’s Bridget Keevil said she had gone from four shops and 21 staff pre-Covid to three outlets and only seven staff: “We have much more work than we can cope with. That means I’ve been doing 16-hour days sometimes because the buck stops with me,” she said.
“You can’t give the same amount of time you used to give to customers, but the way we do it is not to the detriment of the consumer.”
She added the post-pandemic period had been “like a tap turned on into my bank account that I couldn’t turn off,” but said: “I would like to look ahead; I still feel I’m fighting fires.”
Kevin O’Regan, Ramblers Holidays managing director, said it was proving difficult to contract the same group hotels as pre-pandemic, naming Italy, Japan and New Zealand as particularly troublesome.
Ramblers had halved its previous 50 staff but was now back to 40. “We are definitely on the upward trend,” he said. However, he added the customer base, with an average age of 69, had changed. Some had not hiked for some years and had aged, leading to a product rethink and the launch of the Adagio leisurely walking and culture brand.
“We are finding our core walkers are migrating to that,” he said. However, he added one positive effect of the pandemic was that more people had enjoyed walking and hiking. “We were a walking company for walkers. What we now realise is everybody can enjoy a walking holiday.”
Johnathan Bryan, managing director of charity challenge specialist Discover Adventure described a “crazy few years”. He said he had achieved 65% of 2019 business last year and hoped for the same this year.
“Next year is looking great; if it is the same as this year I don’t really care.”
Summit Advisory’s Deborah Potts added it was understandable the post-pandemic period had proved stressful:
“Rapid recovery can feel the same as a rapid downturn because your systems are under strain,” she said.
She added there was strong interest in UK travel businesses from foreign buyers. “There are some businesses that recognise organic growth is going to be too slow to hit their own targets,” she said.
