GLOBAL GETAWAYS BOUNCE BACK BUT CAN STRUGGLING BORDER-LINE BRITONS AFFORD FOREIGN HOLIDAYS?
By SHAMLAL PURI
Associate Publisher & Senior Editor – UK
shamlalpuri4@gmail.com
Worth Noting:
- This year’s attendance at highlights a sector in recovery. It demonstrates an appetite to do business and meet face-to-face. It was particularly significant as the travel industry is still struggling for survival in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Luxury foreign holidays have always been the forte of the UK’s wealthy elite as they form part of a select group who oil this country’s international holiday industry.
- In the past, middle-class Britons went to European destinations for short-haul holidays to Spain, Portugal, France, and Greece. Poorer people prefer staycations in the United Kingdom to cut down on costs.
- This will change as only a reduced section wealthy Britons will go to long-haul destinations. Most of the population in the lower range of incomes watch their pennies as they struggle with the rising cost of living crisis in the UK.
An incredible number of travel professionals walked through World Travel Market (WTM) in London’s ExCel Centre last week, with over 35,800 people participating – exceeding expected attendance – presenting over double the attendance than that of 2021.
This year’s event was successful largely because it attracted more global travel industry experts. I was also back at this year’s event clocking another year of continued attendance in London and Dubai’s Arab Travel Market at this premier travel industry fixture.
One of the key attendee types at WTM is global travel buyers – individuals with direct purchasing responsibility for travel products. This year, buyer numbers were up 25% compared with 2021.
This significant increase is a direct result of ongoing efforts by WTM to map and engage the global buyer audience – reflective of a post-pandemic world – homing in on the detail that ensures they receive a flawless event experience.
Specific elements laid on for travel buyers included 1-2-1 speed networking, access to a Buyers Club lounge, fast track entry, and a concierge meeting service.
This year also saw ministerial representation from 55 nations – up 15% on 2021, a 165% increase in exhibiting personnel versus 2021, and over 1,500 media in attendance – representing over a 70% increase on 2021.
This year’s attendance at highlights a sector in recovery. It demonstrates an appetite to do business and meet face-to-face. It was particularly significant as the travel industry is still struggling for survival in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Luxury foreign holidays have always been the forte of the UK’s wealthy elite as they form part of a select group who oil this country’s international holiday industry.
In the past, middle-class Britons went to European destinations for short-haul holidays to Spain, Portugal, France, and Greece. Poorer people prefer staycations in the United Kingdom to cut down on costs.
This will change as only a reduced section wealthy Britons will go to long-haul destinations. Most of the population in the lower range of incomes watch their pennies as they struggle with the rising cost of living crisis in the UK.
Holidays and eating out face the chop as Britons struggle to pay their energy, fuel, food bills and house mortgages which threaten to hit the roof. Many Brits, unable to pay their home loans, are on the verge of losing their homes as repossessions rocket.
This week’s Budget on Thursday, 17 November, the first by the Rishi Sunak Government, adds to their financial woes with higher taxes. There are fears of an impending recession in the UK which could be worse than the previous recession.
The added fear this year is the unwarranted Russian bomb attack on Poland in the midst of the Ukraine war which military analysts say, if NATO confirms as deliberate strikes, could spark off threats of a Third World War. Few wealthy Britons would risk holidaying abroad in such a situation.
The nearest many Britons could do to whet their appetite for a luxury holiday was visit the WTM to enjoy a short-term break of a few hours by visiting the stands of the 55 countries, collect brochures and maybe if they were lucky, some souvenirs.
In many cases these goodies were hard to come by as some of the visitors complained that the foreign exhibitors were less generous than in previous years.
There was no doubt a few generous exhibitors from the more prosperous nations who saw added value in showing off their culture, cuisine, music, and dance and giving a taste of their national dishes. They also gave away souvenirs and goody bags.
The event was geared up more for the travel industry than visitors.
It was no doubt a big hit with the travel industry experts. This is the platform where mega deals are struck. How big is the WTM?
Tourism ministers from around the globe say supporting local workers and small businesses is a vital element of the sector’s sustainable recovery from the pandemic.
The politicians joined private sector bosses at the Ministers’ Summit in association with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC)
They agreed that sustainability and tackling the climate crisis must be on their agenda.
They highlighted how training tourism staff and encouraging entrepreneurs and SMEs will boost local and regional economies, helping them to be more resilient.
Zurab Pololikashvili, WTO’s Secretary-General, told ministers the sector must “urgently” rethink tourism as it can solve the climate emergency and need for jobs.
“We need to rethink tourism as an employer – during the pandemic, large numbers of workers left tourism, and not all of them have come back,” he said.
“We must make tourism an attractive sector to work in and invest in people; motivated young people are key to tourism’s success.”
He outlined how UNWTO has expanded its education programme, working with universities and educational institutions – with 20,000 students in 190 countries.
Pololikashvili also urged the tourism ministers to collaborate closely with colleagues in other ministries to ensure the sector’s voice is heard at top government levels.
Julia Simpson, WTTC President and CEO, agreed the post-pandemic recovery is an opportunity to “rethink our sector” and encouraged closer cooperation between the private and public sectors.
“Our sector creates one in 10 jobs on this planet and one in 10 dollars – that’s people being able to feed and educate their families,” she said.
“We have labour shortages and need to be inventive to attract the right people to our sector,” Saudi Arabia’s tourism minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb, said.
“The kingdom is investing $800 billion during the 2020s to build significant tourism destinations and cities, adding: “We are focused on the planet, people, and the place. We are making sure materials are environmentally friendly to ensure sustainability and using technology to facilitate the journey of visitors.”
One million jobs will be created in the next 10 years, so an ambitious training project is needed.
“Saudi Arabia will train 100,000 a year for the next 10 years,” he said.
The Maldives’ tourism minister, Abdulla Mausoom, said the nation aims to be “the most sustainable tourist destination” and is developing more accessible facilities to enable disabled travellers to visit.
Ahmed Issa, Egypt’s tourism minister, said the country is wooing expats as part of a “roots” tourism plan and hoping to triple its aviation capacity.
Egypt is also being highlighted as it was hosting COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh.
Rita Marques, Portugal’s tourism minister, said 20% of the country’s workforce was lost during the pandemic, so it focuses on training staff – and has introduced a new visa aimed at digital nomads.
Bahrain tourism minister, Fatima Al Sairafi, said: “Human capital is the main driver, so we have invested heavily in that tourism capital. People are the main assets of tourism.”
Highlighting the importance of private-public partnerships and collaboration, Louis Steven Obeegadoo, who is Mauritius’s tourism, housing deputy prime minister said, “We need to look beyond tourism to rebuild tourism.”
Miguel Torruco Marques, the Mexican tourism minister, underscored the importance of maintaining domestic tourism during the pandemic to help preserve the environment and local cultures.
Niels Olsen, Ecuador’s tourism minister said his administration is working hard to develop air connections, offering incentives to airlines and tax breaks for airports. It also promotes the country to luxury travellers and backpackers – and has launched a nomad visa.
Tourism ministers from the Philippines, Costa Rica and Nicaragua also highlighted the value of domestic holidaymakers. In contrast, Selamawit Dawit, state minister of Ethiopia’s tourism ministry, described the sector as a “powerful force for peace”.
Career soldier turned filmmaker and adventurer Levison Wood, said more people want to feel their travels will give them a “spiritual, emotional connection”.
“They want to feel good about what their journey has achieved; it is about giving back,” he said.
Wood who has visited 120 countries over 20 years, recalled his adventures, from meeting the Dalai Lama in India to tracking elephants in Botswana.
He described his off-the-beaten track trips to Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sudan. He also highlighted the need to protect wildlife in tourist destinations.
His work has been featured on C4, Animal Planet, Discovery, CNBC, and National Geographic, and he is known for epic walks – along the Nile, the Himalayas, and South America.
“When I go on these extended walks, I find that when you put yourself in the same vulnerabilities as the communities you meet, you’ll see less as a tourist and more as a fellow human being,” he said.
He wants to “shine the spotlight on places that may need more attention”, where tourism can be an essential bridge between communities.
He added: “The travel industry plays a massive part in bridging communities. “We are all ambassadors; we must show what the world can be like.”
Experts have urged that countries see younger travellers as an investment despite new obstacles to growing this market sector.
Younger travellers were the first to return after Covid-19 and collectively had the most disposable income.
Addressing consumer demand for technology and sustainability could keep the travel business better able to survive the economic downturn, delegates heard.
Euromonitor International’s head of travel research Caroline Bremner said travel’s current vital challenges were inflation stemming from Ukraine war coupled with post-pandemic labour shortages and the loss of China and Russia as source markets.
However, the company’s recent research shows that technology is predicted to become a rapidly more critical way to tap into consumer demand.
Data and analytics continue to be the technological priority of travel companies, with over 65% of 700 travel professionals surveyed believing this will impact travel businesses in the next five years, with artificial intelligence and augmented or virtual reality the next in importance.
Despite its economic problems, the Metaverse is seen as an area with long-term potential. 50% of millennial consumers surveyed by Euromonitor were planning to attend concerts or sporting events. There was also a take-up in viewing virtual reality holiday destinations.
Among European travel companies surveyed, 69% believed big data and analytics would impact them in the next five years, 52% expected AI to be critical, and 42% augmented or virtual reality.
Euromonitor believes this will be motivated primarily by a wish to improve the customer experience followed by a desire to enhance cyber security, a concern accelerated by Ukraine war.
In the Americas, Latin America had a greater interest in VR, with more than 50% of survey respondents interested in exploring travel destinations by headset compared to 35% in the US.
In the Asia Pacific region, 52% of travel businesses said integrating new technologies would be a key priority over the next three to five years. Meanwhile, 48% of consumers said they would use a VR headset to view holiday destinations before deciding to book.
Euromonitor highlighted how Millenium Hotels has launched M Social, the first hotel in the Metaverse, allowing consumers’ avatars to earn awards in the Decentral and virtual world that could be redeemed in the real world.
Bremner advised companies not to turn the cost-of-living crisis into a ‘race to the bottom but instead to protect margins by investing in technology and being transparent with marketing sustainability, another growing customer demand.
“We have to remain cautiously optimistic because there are some noticeably big challenges ahead. Already we know in Europe and the US there could be a recession next year,” said Bremner.
She added that customers were willing to forgo other luxuries like home improvements to travel. Still, flexible booking terms like offering payment in instalments were likely to help.
Sally Cope, Tourism Australia’s regional general manager, UK & Northern Europe, said Australia had long seen the value of younger travellers, backpackers and those taking a working holiday: “It gives people their first taste of travel, it’s an investment.”
She said that pre-Covid, 250,000 jobs were filled in Australia under the working visa scheme and that only 40,000 of these workers had remained when borders closed. “Our industry noticed that.”
She said that long-stay visitor spending often exceeded that of luxury travellers, with the average at around AUS $10,000. Recognising this, Australia has extended its working visa scheme to those aged up to 35 for three years. The requirement to do farm work in the second year has been removed.
Steve Lowy, chair of the British Educational Travel Association (BETA), said there were other community benefits from youth travel. More than different types, youths ended up staying in more suburban locations and buying locally, spreading the benefits, he said.
There were more spin-offs: “I have 1,000 students in London. I would say 40% of their parents have visited them. There is no marketing needed.”
Andrew Brown, the WTTC’s New Zealand-born director of commercial and membership, said his country’s attitude to backpackers was not as positive as Australia’s. “They are seen as low-value travellers, but they are not because they spread awareness.” This meant parents often visited after their children had shown them what to see.
The panel advised countries to offer ‘landing packages’ which sorted out initial accommodation, banking, and safety worries for young visitors. This was an issue now parents were in constant touch on social media. “Smooth that out, and you will go for gold,” said Brown.
He praised Portugal’s traveller employment scheme. “Portugal looked at the gap in the market that they didn’t have yet.” He added Canada was also initiative-taking, with 35 job schemes for overseas youth, while the UK had six.
Among the highlight of event is the best stand competition. Judges narrowed down their pick of the stands across five hotly contested categories.
The Moroccan National Tourism Office won the Best Stand the Over 150 Square Metres award. The judges particularly liking its use of mosaic designs. Judge Alessandra Alonso, managing director of Women in Travel, commented: “It is a well thought through the use of a mixed space, inviting from a visitors’ perspective, with an eye-catching design reminiscent of local culture.” While Martin Fullard, editorial director of Mash Media, added: “I was drawn to it. It would stoke your interest to talk to them.”
Go Global Travel bagged the best stand under 150 square metres award for its use of raised cube shapes and an excellent clear view across the stand. “It is very creative in its simplicity,” commented judge Paul Richer, senior partner for Genesys.
In the same category, the judges awarded a highly commended to Cullinan Belek, which they thought clearly represented ‘an upmarket hotel’.
The Best Stand for Doing Business went to Italian National Tourist Board ENIT. The judges approved of the many well-signposted tables, which had evidence of “much business going on.” They also thought the barista serving coffee was a nice touch.
Qatar Tourism scooped the Best Stand Feature accolade. Though the judges admired several practical uses of screens around the show, they decided what they dubbed a ‘movie walkway’ on Qatar’s stand was the most immersive and atmospheric.
“You felt you were walking down the street, in a souk or in the desert. It told you about the country,” explained marketing consultant Ian Parker.
Best Stand Design at WTM Travel Tech went to Ratehawk. “It was very stylish, had a good number of meeting tables and was creative with a nice use of colour,” commented Richer.
Juliette Losardo, Exhibition Director, WTM London, said: “We don’t rest for long – and have no room for complacency. We’ve already started work and planning to ensure 2023 will be better than ever!”