CD Traveller » ABTA

Brits want to book holidays to escape 2012 events

Editor — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:00:53 +0000

David Cameron may have declared late last year that “In 2012 there will be only one place to be: Britain.”

However a survey by ABTA has revealed that at least 12 percent of Brits are looking to escape on holiday, in order to avoid once in a lifetime events such as the London Olympics and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. The older generation are particularly keen to take off: 22 per cent of the over-65s are reported to be planning a trip away, compared to 18 per cent of 55 to 64-year-olds.

Olympic officials and travel industry insiders are said to be concerned by the polls findings. They shouldn’t be. Here at CD-Traveller towers, we’re confident that once winter is out of the way, the excitement about this year’s extraordinary events will start to build and the majority of Brits will happily stay put.

Where to go in 2012

Editor — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:01:01 +0000

Spain; the winner in 2012?

Ever read any of those tips for “hot” holiday destinations for 2012? Do you follow them? Do you believe them?
I have been ploughing through some of the tips from some of the more well-known publications and companies and the thing that I find interesting is that they hardly agree with each other. You’d have thought with all the travelling they do; with all the news and gossip they hear and with all the industry trends they see that there would be unanimity on at least a few?
Well, it’s hard to find unless you look at National Geographic Traveller Magazine. And that’s only because the magazine has 71 different top ten lists. The laws of probability say that they have to match with some!
I’m left thinking that your or my knowledge is as good as or if not better than “most” of the holiday experts. But then think about it. They aren’t necessarily saying this will be the hit destinations, the most popular ones or the most visited. All some are saying is that these places are worth visiting. Which, when you think about it, would apply to nearly anywhere. Take Hull for example. I had never been there till this year. Friends who went to university there put me off the city and remarked on fish links. Well I went, I saw and came away impressed. There is a lot to do in Hull and it’s a great place to use as a base to explore Yorkshire.
The American magazine, Frommer, picked similar unlikely place in its list which was published months ago, – Kansas City. (talk about starting early!) It hasn’t led to an upsurge yet so what about some of the places they suggest? They suggested Lima in Peru for food and drink which was also a recommendation of National Geographic. It didn’t get a mention by Lonely Planet or ABTA, Four bgb or TUI in their forecasts.
ABTA suggested that well-known destinations would be likely to be the most popular so it chose France, Italy, Spain and the USA as likely to be popular this year. But aside for specific destinations, it thinks that specialist holidays like cruising or adventure holidays would be in greater demand. It thinks that more of us will use high street travel agencies than book online which was the case in 2011. And like some other forecasters it sees budget and luxury holidays will do well. Those in the middle will be squeezed as most of us tighten our belts.
TUI (owners of Thomson and First Choice) agree with ABTA in saying that tried and tested destinations in the Med will do well but they also think that Cape Verde, Jamaica, Mexico and Croatia will do well. Even Libya as they plan on looking for their cruise ships to dock there in 2012/13!
Four bgb, one of the very large specialist travel PR and marketing com companies, highlights value for money as one key feature of the way we look at holidays regardless of whether they are luxury, package, budget or build yourself holidays. Allied to that is a strong group of people who have a shopping list of places to go and things to experience so activity holidays should feature more amongst the wishes of holidaymakers. And they pointed out just how important we are to overseas destinations. After Germany, more money is spent on advertising and promotions to persuade us to holiday abroad than in any other country!
Last November, TripAdvisor, said that in 2012, a quarter of all Britons who holidayed would spend more on their holidays. Time and events can quickly change people’s views so that might have altered by now but they also forecast Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain.
So what will you do? Spend more or less? Go somewhere you know or opt for the new? Lounge around or be an active holidaymaker? In a few hours we will suggest places you might want to consider. And later this week, CD-Traveller will reveal the results of its survey amongst you, its readers.

What we watch is where we go

adrian — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:16:22 +0000

Sarah Lund and one of her famous faroe jumpers

ABTA has suggested that watch we watch on TV or at the cinemas will have an effect on where we might go on holiday.
The Guardian says that the popular Danish detective TV series, The Killing, has already seen an increase of 50,000 British visitors to Denmark and remember how many Faroe Island jumpers were sold at the time of the first series? David Attenborough’s Frozen North has resulted in lots of travel agency enquiries about holidays to both the Arctic and Antarctica. With a two hour Christmas Downton Abbey due on Christmas Day, might Highclere House (where it is filmed) see even more visitors than it did in this year?
So what is on that might attract us? Will more of us think of India after the Top Gear special on travelling in the country? Or will we head to Sweden when the English language version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo opens at the cinema? ABTA thinks so.
Will tonight’s Lapland make us think of Scandinavia? Will the flurry of Jane Austen programmes make us think of Alton or Bath? Or will Miranda Hart’s trip with Bear Grylls to Switzerland make us plan a trip to the Alps? True, Terry Wogan’s earlier series on Ireland seems to have boosted visitor numbers there but what works and what doesn’t? Obviously the reruns of Porridge are unlikely to encourage us to visit old gaols around our countries and Deal or No Deal may not be the clincher in deciding to visit a panto but Madagascar; Escape 2 Africa and Ice Age 3 might make us think further afield.
And there is always Dickens. With so many exhibitions celebrating the author’s 200th birthday next year, the start of Great Expectations containing two of the most interesting creations of the author – Miss Havisham and Magwitch- might intrigue us to go to Portsmouth, Kent and London. Me? I might settle for another viewing of Morecambe and Wise and a trip to Luton or Peterborough.

The Great Getaway

Editor — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 06:45:41 +0000

Littlehampton Beach

Depending on whom you talk to, between 1-8 million and two million of us are airport bound this weekend as we use the last bank holiday of summer to take a break. The AA says that 16 million of us will take to the roads to explore parts of the UK and Ireland. Yet again, the media suggests it will be a record number of us travelling. When did they ever say it wasn’t?
It’s always a distinct possibility that strikes will occur juts to add to the misery of the bustle of travelling so I just mention the possibility of a strike on Eurotunnel. As I tweeted yesterday, it may not happen and it is hoped by the company that the British workers will be able to keep things going as it is only the French workers that are affected. But check before your travel, as they say.
ABTA says that this year it is the Balearics, mainland Spain, Portugal and the Greek islands that are attracting us which is little different from the usual holiday patterns. Fewer of us seem to be going to Egypt and there is still space, even at this late hour, in Turkey. Don’t however jump for a cheap flight this weekend (yes, there are some around) unless you look at return flights as well. There are some really high prices around for return trips from, say, Faro, Tenerife and Ibiza if you plan to travel back in the next three to seven days.
For those of you seeking city breaks this weekend, New York leads the way (may Hurricane Irene stay away!) with perennials like Paris, Dublin and Amsterdam high up there as well.
Roads to the festivals in Reading, Leeds and Notting Hill will be busy this weekend so watch out if you’re travelling in those directions. On a personal note, good luck to one of our writers, Jane , who will be on one of the Notting Hill floats. May it stay dry for you.
Apart from the festivals, other busy roads will be the M5 to the west country, the M6 from north of Birmingham up to Blackpool and virtually any other road that leads to the coast or an event. And there are lots of events on this weekend which you’ll find listed to the right in our regular column. The biggies have to be gravy wresting in Rossendale and bog snorkeling in Llanwrtyd Wells!
Whatever you’re doing, enjoy it.

The Holiday Booking Rush Begins

Editor — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 07:54:33 +0000

It looks as though those of us who haven’t booked holidays are finally getting around to it. Over the weekend, travel agents that we’ve spoken to saw more customers than they expected. Last minute bookings seem to be the theme this year again.
According to ABTA, there has been a bounce for holidays in Spain and Portugal. And after the demonstrations in Greece a couple of weeks ago, bookings there are up slightly as well. It looks as though the publicity made a smaller impact on people than many thought they might.
There are still holidays available to Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt at bargain prices but in other popular resorts in many countries, many have sold out. In Turkey for example, you won’t find many last minute discounts and Malta is also pretty full. The Algarve in Portugal is as busy as you might expect and Italy doesn’t have many discounts. We had an e-mail from a tour operator promoting holidays in Venice and the Lido and the prices didn’t appeal one bit. Obviously they have fairly healthy bookings already and are just trying to clear the last remaining ones.
If you are still planning on booking a summer break overseas then the best opportunities for a deal might be by being flexible and being able to travel within a couple of days. Holidays towards the very end of August look a possible bargain but we are still a bit too far away to be sure that they will occur. Because ABTA books few domestic holidays it is hard to gauge how well the home countries are doing yet.

The rise and rise in the popularity of cruising continues and ABTA estimates that it is up by 5% in just those cruising from the UK. Over all, ABTA says quoting from GfK-Ascent MI’s regular research, short haul holiday bookings are up 9% this year over last year.
Why?
There could be any number of factors. People who had staycations last year but have opted for an overseas break this year. Although the pound isn’t doing well against many currencies, the euro hasn’t done well either in the last year or so. That helps as it is in the euro zone where the upturn is being seen. ABTA also says that competitive pricing from hoteliers has helped as has the increase in all-inclusive holidays.

Where Forward for APD?

Editor — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:43:56 +0000

Last Friday saw the end of the consultation period for APD, Air Passenger Duty. Airlines, airports, industry boffins have all put in their two pennyworth so is there any consensus?
You might remember that prior to last year’s election the Conservatives were talking of making the tax based on a per plane basis rather than the current per person basis. For those who can remember back to the nineties, you might also remember that it was a carbon based tax.
These days no one really disguises the fact that this is just another tax. A new, EU carbon emissions tax is due to be introduced next year so perhaps it is no wonder that the government and nearly all politicians of whatever persuasion don’t call APD that for it seems we may have both a tax and the emissions tax.
British Airways, in its submission, called for the four APD bands to be reduced to two and distance bands and that it should be based on whether you fly economy or first and business class. They also ask for it to be phased out by 2013 when revenue from the carbon tax would start to fuel the tax coffers.
Virgin Atlantic highlighted the iniquity between flying long-haul and shorter distances. But then Virgin only flies long-haul. It also suggests the current proposals would deter people from long-haul trips. It also follows BA in suggesting that economy and premium economy passengers should be carged the same tax, as, incidentally, do most other submissions.
ABTA noted the problem that would exist in Northern Ireland. On a trip to the US for a family of four, Britons would pay £240 whilst a family flying from the Republic of Ireland would pay just €12. So why wouldn’t those in Northern Ireland not just fly from Dublin and save themselves hundreds of pounds? The travel industry in the province could be severely hit. Sammy Wilson, the Northern Irish finance minister also submitted a view that the special situation in Northern Ireland should be addressed in the final outcome. ABTA also says that scrapping the tax could boost earnings by £1 billion (but the tax this year will bring in twice that!) and create 25,000 jobs.
easyJet has already said that family holidays will be hit and that it could cause the loss of 77,000 jobs.
The Scottish Passenger Agents Association wants the tax lifted for domestic flights, and like others, wants 12 months’ notice of the changes when they are decided upon.
Finally the Association of ATOL Companies (those who are bonded) wants to link the distance bands as well so that one band is short and medium-haul and the other is long. They also pointed out that demand would be hit meaning fewer flights taken.
So now, we await the governments’ proposals

Easter Travel Beckons

Editor — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 06:51:26 +0000

At this time of the year, there are lots of organisations telling us where we are holidaying over Easter. Are we staying at home or going abroad? Will we be affected by strikes, road engineering works or ferry terminal blockades?
This Easter seems a little odd. No strikes on the horizon; no air traffic control disputes, no ferry problems. All we have are road works to contend.
So on that cheery note, where are we off to?
ABTA says that 2 million of us will go abroad, and by taking 3 days leave and adding it to the weekends and the public holidays, we can have an 11 day break. 600,000 will leave from Heathrow and a further 250,000 from Gatwick. 150,000 will leave from the three main Scottish airports, 160,000 from Stansted and 125,000 from Manchester. Eurostar says it will be carrying 65,000, about the same number that will fly from Birmingham and Cardiff estimates 51,000 will fly up until the end of the first May bank holiday.
But to where? Abta says Spain with the Canaries and the Costa del Sol as this year’s hot spots. Florida has families flocking to it they say which will certainly please the state tourist board since visitor numbers have been down over the last couple of years. And city breaks rate highly, the top five being Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, Rome and New York.
Last year ABTA forecast that about the same number would get away but then it was Egypt and Turkey that were doing well after Spain. This year there remain bargain priced places there and in Tunisia
Closer to home, they estimate that Blackpool, Bournemouth and Brighton should have a bumper time and that there are strong bookings for the Isle of Wight and the Channel Isles. Edinburgh and Manchester lead the way for city breaks and bookings for cottages in Cornwall, East Anglia and the North of England are good.
That fits in with the high estimate from the AA of those who may stay at home. The results of the latest AA/Populus survey say that 85% of us remain at home this year. Experian, the credit rating company, also says that many of us would forgo foreign holidays. 10 million of us will hit the roads for the Easter holiday weekend and another 8 million over the royal wedding long weekend. On top of that they think there will be 6 million day trips made over that weekend so road congestion might be possible. For drivers though, the AA offers some comfort. Because school holidays have been under way there may be less traffic trying to get away tomorrow,( Thursday evening) and Good Friday. On both weekends drivers from Northern Ireland are most likely to get behind the wheel. On the other hand the AA research was conducted almost a month ago so people may have changed their minds since then.
Wherever you go and whatever you do, have an enjoyable Easter from all of us here at CD-Traveller.

Changing the ATOL Scheme Doesn’t Go Far Enough

adrian — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 09:48:13 +0000

Yesterday the transport minister, Theresa Villiers, announced reforms to the way holidays are bonded. Or rather she announced what the government proposed to do subject to consultation. After that, and provided there aren’t suggestions, watered down ideas or whatever, the legislation will come in until the end of the year.
The government is proposing that bonding should occur if you book flight and accommodation separately at the same place at roughly the same time. If your holiday looks like a package holiday but it isn’t currently legally defined that way it will be when the legislation comes in. The second proposal is to deter businesses from selling you something that isn’t bonded but looks like it. They must make it clear to you what the situation is. Finally, there will be simplified single document that you will be handed which explains when protection is in place.
This is the first change in 15 years and, in my opinion, goes nowhere near far enough. For the package holiday industry it gives them a slightly more level playing field with those who don’t provide bonding and it will help to remove the doubts that you are not covered if you buy separate items from the one supplier. But it offers nothing to the holidaymaker who buys an airline ticket from one source and accommodation from another. The accommodation is less of an issue because, in most cases, you can cancel a booking up to 24 hours or even 6pm on the day of arrival. The issue remains with the plane ticket. If an airline goes bust, the only recourse is to have bought the ticket on a credit card and then appeal to the credit card company for a refund. If you use a debit card – which more people are doing to avoid the credit card charges- you have no recourse. In effect the credit card charge is becoming your “insurance” for the journey. And expensive insurance it can be too.
And what if you buy a hotel recommended on an airline website? Or an airline ticket from a hotel website? You still won’t be covered. ABTA, TUI and Thomas Cook have all said the change doesn’t go far enough.
We pay the bond fee of £2.50 per booking which is collected by the travel agent under the present rules. Why can’t airlines (or hotels if they offer flights on their websites) add a similar fee to their bills (they add everything else on) yet pass this to a bonding scheme so we are covered? Until then this system will still be a difficult mess to understand; – as transparent as a brick wall.

Escape Expensive: Holiday Abroad

Editor — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 09:31:34 +0000

The online travel agency, On the Beach, has conducted a survey amongst its website users (so they aren’t representative of the population as a whole or even just of online users) and has come up with some figures that should worry the British domestic travel industry. 96% of all responders said that they will spend their summer holidays abroad in 2011 and the two most frequently given reasons were the weather and that British hotels were too expensive. 70% said that a holiday in the UK was more expensive than going abroad.
As I said, the survey is biased to users of the internet and On the Beach’s website in particular but that such a high figure is to be found, up by 23% over last years’ survey, means there are some questions that need answering. Whether a holiday in the UK is more expensive or not isn’t quite as important as that a number of people, rightly or wrongly, believe it to be so. If it’s wrong then we need to be told. If it’s not then, like Spain over the last few years, they need to become more competitive. Having had two pretty good years at attracting us to stay in the UK, domestic tourism needs to remember that most travelers will go for somewhere that appeals and somewhere they can get good value for money as the recent ABTA trends report showed.
Nonetheless large numbers of us will go abroad, if for no other reason than to forget the winter and the weather. A hint of a wet and cool summer will see bookings rise. And if that happens will we go to the boom destinations of 2010?
The Far East did well last year. Visitors to Hong Kong were up by about a quarter and by the end of November some 18 million people had visited it. It was fueled by visitors from China, India, Japan and Russia in the main but France, Germany and Italy all sent much higher numbers. Usually, it is the new year fireworks in Sydney that lead the TV news stories on January 1st. This year it was the festivities in Hong Kong. Will we follow this trend and travel there in 2011?
After a shaky start to the year, Thailand bounced back and the tourism ministry is suggesting that just under 16 million people will have visited the country. Again, the surge is Asian led but European visitors were up over 8%. Travellers to Vietnam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Cambodia are up yet traditionally linked places like Australia are down. Will the Oprah Winfrey effect just before Christmas and all the world wide publicity that it gathered encourage us to go there in 2011.
The Caribbean has suffered in the last year or so with unfair APD rates compared to its big neighbour in the US but Jamaica attracted more of us, admittedly from a small base. Still, it was their best performance in attracting us since 2006. And Mexico was found by the Post Office to be one of the best places to go for value for money. (as well as Sri Lanka).
One country that may not feature too high in places for us to visit this year could be Russia. Any country that has 9 different time zones in it must have lots of things to see and do. No it’s because the tourism minister, Vitaly Mutko has said that bad roads, undeveloped infrastructure and hotel capacity will deter a large scale influx of visitors. It is still St Petersburg and Moscow that attract people. Elsewhere there is little overseas tourism in comparison.
What’s the betting that it will be Egypt, Turkey, Spain, France and the usual places that most of us will go to this year?

2011: What ABTA Thinks

Editor — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 08:37:20 +0000

ABTA has produced a 42 page report on what it thinks will be the travel trends of 2011. Forecasts are fun if only to look back on in 12 months time and see what didn’t come to pass. They got one thing right last year though. 2010 has been a tough year with a number of airlines and tour operators going bust as the industry tried to second guess what we, the travellers, would do. We booked later than ever; more of us stayed at home than many expected yet long haul proved a growth area.
So what for 2011?
They seem optimistic for the year as I think just about everybody now accepts that a holiday is viewed as a necessity not a luxury. We will continue to holiday but we will trim that to use what money we have. And with a VAT increase and other tax increases on the way, what effect will those have? APD (Air Passenger Duty) has risen every year for the last few years and all of that effect hasn’t kicked in yet. ABTA says that by 2015/2016 we will be paying £3.8 billion. Some of us will choose to holiday by other means than flying. And some will stay at home, they think, particularly given what they call the Wills and Kate phenomenon. This will persuade some of us to travel to Anglesey where the couple will live or journey to other locations linked to them including Kenya where he proposed and the Seychelles where they have holidayed. They also think that American, Croatian, Danish, Dutch and Germans might come in greater numbers given the enquiries so far. (But not the French?) In 2012 the Olympics and the diamond jubilee will be strong attractions for overseas visitors.
But where might we go?
In Europe they think that the two hot destinations will be Estonia and Sweden. Estonia because the capital, Tallin, is going to be one of the European Cities of Culture next year (it also adopts the euro from January 1st 2011) and Sweden because of the interest in the crime writing and films that are set there. With Wallander being seen on BBC and the Stieg Larrsson and Camilla Lackberg books and films, ABTA thinks that Stockholm and Gothenburg will lure us particularly since there are so many direct flights. But what of traditional places like Spain? Spain, they think will see more of us going there as there will be more flights and prices have come into line with Turkish and Egyptian destinations. And with the euro at better rates against the pound than for a little while, other popular destinations in Europe may attract more of us.
Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia are places where they still see us visiting in ever increasing numbers but there are also three other places they mention, Abu Dhabi, Syria and Iraq. Abu Dhabi has been flagged for years as a hot destination prospect and this time it might be true. Having a formula one race gave them lots of publicity, they have Ferrari World and soon they will have branches of the Louvre and the Guggenheim museums. With luxury resorts springing up they are looking at attracting those who might consider Dubai. As for Iraq, they say that Basra is being suggested as a cruise port whilst infrastructure is built up. In the north, Kurdistan, they are building mountain adventure areas and shopping centres but say that large tourism is a little way off yet. Which leaves Syria. Heritage sites like Damascus, Aleppo and Palmyra abound and there are currently 600 tourism projects being undertaken. Palmyra, of course, is on the famed Silk Route so could be in line for more investment from the international group that is trying to encourage more visitors to the route. Syria will attract a certain visitor who will visit for the culture and put up with some inconveniences in travel. It would be my tip for a destination that will be transformed over the next decade so visit it before it becomes overrun.
For long haul areas, ABTA lists New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Brazil. Mexico, Nepal, Peru, Peurto Rico and the USA as areas to watch. All these place will have been substantially affected by the increase in APD so they will have to promote themselves on what they have to offer rather than price. But Brazil has never been cheap and nor has been Puerto Rico. The pound/dollar ratio has been declining making America as a little more expensive so will that turn us off going there? Mexico has more flights in 2011 and more capacity always adds numbers. New Zealand will always appeal because of its language and its huge range of scenery from glaciers and mountains to hot springs and vineyards. Nepal celebrates a tourism year and Peru has the 100th anniversary of the finding of Machu Picchu. But Sri Lanka could be the star in my opinion. Still receiving relatively few visitors it is anxious to encourage us. With beaches, national parks, heritage sites and the cricket world cup not to mention wildlife, climate, direct air links and infrastructure it could be the place to go.
1.77 million of us will cruise in 2100, they forecast. If it were a country, I think that it would rank pretty close to the top 10. That’s how important it has become. And with more cruises starting at UK ports (no APD to pay), more planned (and unplanned) air disruption and more cruise ships around, the numbers could keep growing faster than other holiday types.
Do you agree with ABTA or have you your own ideas of the 2011 hotspots?