There appears to be a growing consensus in the international community that the worst of the crisis is over and recovery in some economies is underway.
The current crisis according to global economist was long overdue and was a necessary correction to the global economy. At the end of 2008, when the crisis was still unfolding, there was concern that governments were not investing enough. Today, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international financial institutions have started calling for governments to consider an exit strategy.
Some Governments from the very beginning when they introduced unprecedented amounts of stimulus in special relief packages and programs 18-months ago to assist businesses and consumers to deal with an unprecedented crisis, they clearly stated at the onset that the relief would only be for a specific period of time, such as a year. Businesses and consumers knew that it was only for a certain period of time.
As governments make adjustments, the tourism and travel trade is also adjusting to the demands of consumers in order to get the business. Thomson and First Choice opinion poll in the United Kingdom (U.K.) carried out an independent online survey that was completed by about 1000 people regarding their travel plans for 2010.
Eighty per cent expect to take a 2010 break despite the current economic climate, and similar numbers also revealed that the recession in the U.K. will not lead them to change their holiday plans. About half of the respondents plan to spend the same amount of time on vacation as this year and almost a quarter aims to spend more. Many hotels have changed their products to satisfy consumer demand for 2010. U.K. travellers have indicated that they are interested in packaged holidays and all-inclusive holidays.
A leading U.K. operator Hoseasons,’ reports that bookings through agents were up by 25 per cent this year, with bookings overall rising by 30 per cent. For 2010, overall bookings were up by 70 per cent.
U.K. Sunvil Holidays director admitted to be petrified at the start of 2009 as bookings slumped by a quarter over the same period in 2008, but said business had since recovered to now be almost level.
TUI distribution director reportedly stated that sales for summer 2010 had started off strongly, leading him to be optimistic for next year, adding that people who stayed at home in 2009 will go abroad in 2010.
Another interesting thing to note is that U.K. travellers are not too concerned about pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) flu also referred too at times as swine flu, with six out of 10 expecting their holiday plans to be unchanged next year in the event of a change in the pandemic.
Overall, signs of optimism are returning to the U.K. travel industry which saw the number of visits to the island fall by nine per cent in the last 12 months compared with a year earlier. Visits from residents of Europe dropped six per cent while visits from North America fell by 21 per cent. The number of overseas visits by U.K. residents fell by 12 per cent in the 12-months to July compared to the previous year. As noted before, there are signs in travel to the U.K., where a slight improvement was recorded from May to July 2009 of two per cent when compared with the previous three months.
A poll of almost 300 leisure and business agents plus business partners shows that more than half (55 per cent) are quite optimistic for the future, with eight per cent saying they are very optimistic. Travellers are shopping around for the best packages and consumers are booking later and are demanding more price matching.
Holidays outside the Eurozone have increased in popularity and more people are booking online.
Travel trends in North/Latin American and European markets are very important for Caribbean destinations as it reveals what we can expect for 2010 as well. This type of information is very important for destination-marketing planning and with the worst of the crisis over; we would do well to research and spend our scarce resources wisely while getting the biggest bang out of it.
Roddy Heyliger