CD Traveller » First Choice

Easter Holidays

Editor — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:28:39 +0000

I was quite surprised to find yesterday that the first local school had just broken up for Easter. In my mind it was still weeks away but in fact Good Friday is only 2 weeks tomorrow.
After the winter we have had it wouldn’t surprise any of us if bookings to the Spanish resorts and warmer areas was the main appeal but personal finances being what they are, some of us will think of taking no breaks at all. And for those that do go, there could be quite a few handicaps to going away. First there are the railways. The RMT union is considering scheduling a nationwide strike because of what it says are safety issues that may occur when Network Rail lays off staff. . You probably need to be an expert to know if safety was an issue. Needless to say, Network Rail says there is no problem and you have to wonder whether if safety was the issue, the union wouldn’t have called the strike as soon as it legally could. By striking at Easter, the cynical amongst us begin to wonder.
So avoid rail and drive.
This means the motorway network and the main A roads will get even more clogged than usual at Easter. So we’ll go abroad but here we are beset by more strike issues. The next British Airways strike which starts on Saturday will be finished by Tuesday but there will probably be some planes in the wrong position so, as happened this week, there will be some disruption for another day or two afterwards. But Lufthansa and Germanwings pilots are planning a four day strike from April 13, TAP Portugal pilots were due to walk out on March 31 but have now said the strike won’t go ahead. Alitalia had a four hour strike and Air France narrowly averted one earlier this week. It seems almost everywhere you look, other than the no-frills airlines, disruption to the traveller is possible. And those not on strike making the most of it. The prices on some airlines have been very pricey during the BA strike.
Away from this misery and to where to go for Easter. Staycations still look to be very popular according to Visit England, a research company called BDRC and Skyscanner with London proving to be popular. Talking to two people who specialise in staving off bankruptcy amongst hotels, they say that London is managing to put hotel prices up but elsewhere there are bargains to be had as hotels struggle to fill rooms. On Skyscanners’ list, Spanish locations take 3 of the top 10 spots with Dublin, Amsterdam and Rome being popular. The number of enquiries about Spain is down on 2009 and, in February, visits by Britons were down by 7.7% compared to last year. Given that we were in the depths of the recession then, there has been little bounceback hence the launch of their big marketing campaign. On the other hand the big holiday group TUI (owners of Thomson and First Choice) and Thomas Cook are happy about Easter and Summer bookings.
What it all seems to mean is that there will still be bargains because the recession is still hurting some suppliers.

What’s hot

Editor — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:30:25 +0000

What’s hot
Whether you’re staycation-ing or vacationing, CD Traveller tells you what’s hot and what’s not in the travel world

Hot
Up in the Air
Juno’s Jason Reitman directs the big screen adaptation of the 2001 novel Up in the Air. Already showered with Golden Globe nominations, the film stars (and we mean stars) George Clooney as Ryan Bing – a corporate downsizing expert, drafted in by companies to fire their staff. He travels across America, living out of a suitcase and loving every minute of it. But when he falls for fellow traveller Alex (Vera Farmiga) and finds his job under threat, Ryan is forced to face up to what it might be like to live a ‘grounded’ life. If you see one Clooney film this year, make it this one.

Thumbs up to Thomson and First Choice
Why? Because these two tour operators are offering free redundancy cover for any summer 2010 holidays booked in Thomson and First Choice shops, around the UK. The redundancy protection cover is valid for departures between May 1 2010 and April 30 2011 but breaks must be booked by February 28 2010.

Keeping up with the Jones
Is there no stopping Nick Jones? The man behind some of the coolest clubs in the country (Soho House, Babington House et al), is back with a new venture: Dean Street Townhouse – a bar and restaurant with bedrooms that has already played host to Gywneth and Chris. The man with the Midas touch will be opening Soho House Berlin, Soho House West Hollywood and Soho Beach Miami later this year. See www.sohohouse.com for more.

Soho House's Nick Jones

Make way for the mancation
Sod the staycation. Thanks to the hit Hollywood film The Hangover, 2010 is all about the man-cation. More and more hotels and resorts are offering all male bonding holiday packages while man-friendly destinations like Las Vegas, Amsterdam and Riga have also reported a surge in popularity.

Flying high
Air New Zealand certainly are having been named airline of the Year for 2010 by Air Transport World – the leading monthly magazine covering the global airline industry. The Auckland based airline won praise for its superb commitment to safety and operational , its groundbreaking customer service and environmental record.

Take a trip to Troncones –
To ensure full holiday bragging rights book a break to Troncones, Mexico pronto. Why? Because according to TripAdvisor’s TravelCast – which identifies up and coming destinations based on site data – Troncones is the top destination for 2010. Nairn in Scotland, El Chalten in Patagonia, Patara in Turkey and Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany round up the top five.

Troncones - this season's hot shot?

Devon’s delights
Planning a mini break in Devon? Visit Devon has launched a new guide to the region’s attractions and events. To view the hotlist – which amongst other suggestions includes a private beach hut with its own hot tub and Europe’s first surfing museum – check out www.visitdevon.co.uk.

Not
Trinidad and Tobago
The Caribbean islands have been hailed as “one of the most dangerous places on the planet” according to researchers studying global gun crime. There were 502 murders in Trinidad and Tobago in 2009 – akin to one killing every 18 hours. The Foreign Office is urging visitors to “be aware that there are high levels of violent crime, especially shootings and kidnappings. British nationals have been victims of violent attacks, particularly in Tobago where law enforcement is weak.”

Blackpool
Blackpool Pleasure Beach – one of Britain’s best loved seaside attractions – has been seriously hit by the recession, recording a £3.9 million loss in 2009 compared with a £4 million profit in 2008. The amusement park – famed for its rollercoaster rides Avalanched and Infusion – said 2009 had been “the worst summer for many years.”

Snow-lidays
The unexpected ‘snow-lidays’ were fun at first but now we’re all thoroughly fed up of the big freeze. White skies, crisp twigs that snap underfoot and air so cold you can see your breath might sound terribly romantic but the reality – travel hell, extra heating costs etc – is otherwise. Roll on spring.

Customer Satisfaction Among Tour Operators

adrian — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 08:59:34 +0000

Looking out of the window at the large dollop of snow that has fallen overnight, it is easy to think of warmer parts of the world and getting away from the cold and bleak view I see. Where to go is one issue but who I go with is another.

You could be forgiven for thinking, after seeing the Which? Holiday report on tour operators that you should avoid the big companies like Thomson, First Choice, Thomas Cook, Cosmos and Virgin because they haven’t done very well in the report.

You would be wrong.

This is not to say that the survey is wrong. The Consumers Association, (CA), publishers of the different Which? Reports has strict and solid research techniques and knowledge. No the problem is the sample. It is drawn from members of the CA which is largely upmarket, middle class. These are not the sort of people who tend to book package holidays with the large tour operators so the number of people surveyed who have holidayed with those I mentioned earlier is proportionately much lower. Low response means a few positive or negative responses can affect results.

The whole survey is only 4,507 responders so the people responding per tour operator could be low. A minimum of only 30 have to reply for each tour operator to be included. Thirdly, smaller tour operators like VFB, which came top (and congratulations to them), move comparatively small numbers of people compared to the millions moved by the big companies. It is always easier to get better customer satisfaction ratings from smaller companies than larger ones and that applies to whichever industry you survey. And to be fair, Rochelle Turner, head of research at the CA said that it might be harder to provide the attention to detail in big companies. Finally it should be said that the tour operators interview people during their holiday. The CA interviewed people after they had returned home and, in some cases, holidays could have been quite a long time ago. Answers may vary as time elapses.

I should make an admission. I have worked with most of the big tour operators over the years on their customer satisfaction programmes so I know how much time effort and money goes in to it and the responses they make to problems.

The big tour operators try as hard as the little ones to make your holidays as enjoyable as they can. And if there is a problem, they will try, by and large, to resolve it. I cannot remember, over the last 10 or so years, of any of the biggest tour operators ever being voted number 1. And I wouldn’t expect them to in any survey of CA members

How Long Will Your Holiday Be?

Editor — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:33:03 +0000

This is the time of the year when the new holiday brochures are being prepared to be sent out to shops so, that come the days after Christmas, we can pick and choose where we want to go. In truth that has changed quite a bit and some destinations and tour operators were taken aback by how late some of us booked this year. In some cases panic was almost about to set in at some places because they thought they would never be able to sell these holidays. Next year, they are assuming that a lot of us will book as late as we did this year.

Another feature that seems to have come out of holidays this year is that we are holidaying for shorter periods. Traditionally, the main summer holiday has been 7 or 14 days. Then shortbreaks or long weekends came in with people going away from anything from 2-4 days. When cruises started to become popular, the length was 5, 7 or 10 days. The bulk of us still took 7 or 14 days but that maybe about to change.

Thomson and First Choice Holidays are forecasting that the interest in 14 day holiday will decline and the 10 or 11 day holiday will become more popular. This year demand for this length of holiday was up by 64% but to be fair that was from fairly small number. But if the biggest holiday in Britain says this is looking to be a trend then they ought to know.

The other trend that they think will grow will be the demand for all inclusive holidays. At present just over 40% of the holidays that they sell are this type. It’s not hard to see why. You know what your costs will be so it is easier to be able to budget and not have too many nasty surprises at the end of the holidays.

Did You Vote for the Winners?

adrian — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:07:21 +0000

Last night the winners were announced of the British Travel Awards. CD-Traveller is one of the sponsors because these are the only awards where you, the traveller and holidaymaker, can vote. So it’s not just the travel industry patting itself on the back. And over 100,000 of you voted so our thanks, and those of the organisers, for taking the time to vote.

By voting you could also win but those prizes will be announced a bit later.

So for now, these are some of the winners.

You chose First Choice as the best short haul tour operator and Virgin Holidays as the best long haul one. Your best airport in the UK was Manchester Airport and overseas, Singapore. The best UK destination was Cornwall and your favourite country to visit was the USA. Your favourite citybreak destination was Barcelona and you thought that Dubai was the best tourist board. American Airlines was voted the best airline and Easyjet, the best no-frills airline. The best cruise company was Cunard and the best ferry operator, P & O. Shearings were voted the best tour operator for escorted tours and Thomson was voted the best in a number of categories including all-inclusive, best to the Middle East and the Med.

For the full list go to www.britishtravelawards.com/tip_awbf.php

Just a reminder. The survey about your future travel thoughts is open until November 30^th. We’ll send you a reminder a little closer to the time as well but you if you haven’t filled it in you can do so by going to www.britishtravelawards.com/tip_rp.php.

And thanks once again for voting. As soon as the winners amongst the voters is known, we’ll let you know.

More on Travel Comparison Websites

adrian — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:30:38 +0000

Sites like TripAdvisor have been discussed before in these rumblings. The issues of small numbers for some hotels, biased reviews put up by the companies or their opponents themselves have all been considered.

Now Thomson and First Choice have thrown up some research about what their customers think of them.. They have been asking some of the 5.5 million people that these brands of TUI carry each year.

Websites like TripAdvisor, Oyster, Tripalu have grown quickly over the last few years and 71% of those polled said that this was their top method of finding out about holidays. But whilst only 2% of them completely trusted these sort of sites, 83% said they were mostly trusted.
So what can we read into this?

They read them, partially believe them but are not totally convinced. But for tour operators, it seems those surveyed believe slightly more in what they read in the brochures.

Some people complain about the ownership of these sites. TripAdvisor, for example, is owned by Expedia. Others complain about the volume of advertising that they carry and whether this influences decision making by the customer as much as the reviews.

What emerges is that we like to read what people think but it isn’t necessarily swaying our decision making. According to this survey, we still ask our friends and family as well. Maybe it comes down to us looking at lots of different sources of information and then making our own minds up. And isn’t that what we should do?

Charity in the Air

adrian — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 11:27:36 +0000

Estimates vary on the number of people who are flying on a bank holiday break this weekend in addition to all the other flyers but it will be over 2 million. During the summer period maybe 15 million will have gone abroad.

And if you fly, at some stage, the cabin crew will make reference to the charity envelope in the seat pocket. Put your unused foreign currency and loose change to a worthy cause they will say. Just about every airline and tour operating airline is involved in this sort of activity and on some of the customer satisfaction surveys you are asked to complete, they ask you about the charities you are interested in.

Why?

Because it helps them to decide which charity to support. After all, if you, their customer, have little interest in the charity they support, little is raised. But how much is raised. Is it useful or just companies claiming a social conscience?
In July alone, Tui (Thomson Holidays and First Choice raised £70,000 just from collections on board the aircraft. In six months, which includes the quieter Spring times over £200,000 was raised. The money is split between charities such as the Born Free Foundation and the Family Holiday Association. Britsih Airways and other airlines in the oneworld alliance have raised millions for UNESCO in the same way.

So when you are next asked for your charity preferences and to donate, please do so. Now at least you know the sort of money that can be raised from just loose change after your travel.