Steve Witt and Paul Harrison, co-founders of Not Just Travel, and its sister arm, The Travel Franchise, reflect on a tough year and look towards a brighter future.
This year has been tough for the travel industry. It is a year we could never have seen coming, but as an industry, we think we should be incredibly proud of the way we have all pulled together through it and worked harder than ever to support each other and our clients. We can?t, of course, end the year without mentioning how hard it has been; we need to acknowledge and highlight the lows otherwise it doesn?t seem real, but we also need to celebrate how far we have come and take stock of our successes.
There is still business out there to be had ? Not Just Travel is proof of that. People still want holidays, and if anything, they need them more because we have all missed them this year; the will to explore is still there. Travel may look different in the future, but it?s still a big industry, there are still customers looking for help and support, you may just have to work harder to find them or evolve the way you do business ? it?s taken a knock, but people still want to travel.
We launched Not Just Travel the day before 9/11, so we understand how to navigate through tough times. Back then, the issue was different ? no-one wanted to travel. This time, people are desperate to travel but they can?t. It is about sustaining business until people have freedom to travel again, and there will be a big peak in bookings.
Now of course, traditionally Peaks run from December to March ? this coming year they will look very different. A lot of people are already booking ahead for their 2021 and 2022 holidays. In fact, we believe more people will take more holidays, and bigger and better ones, as they have missed out in 2020. We think we will see a prolonged Peaks, with more bookings over a longer period as confidence returns. We are already seeing more bookings and more confidence as news of possible vaccines hit the headlines.
So, we want to say well done everyone ? we have made it through the toughest year in travel. You should all be very proud of yourselves. This is an incredible industry, and we have never been prouder to be a part of it.
Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and here?s to a brighter 2021.
