Charting The Course?
The Travel Convention ended with Lord Norman Lamont expressing the view that whichever party leads the country after the general election, they need to bring the UK economy back to solvency in steady stages and ensure that old spending and credit habits do not return.
p>Charting The Course?The Travel Convention ended with Lord Norman Lamont expressing the view that whichever party leads the country after the general election, they need to bring the UK economy back to solvency in steady stages and ensure that old spending and credit habits do not return.
Lord Lamont advised that charting the course requires a slowly recovering economy that is good for confidence, which in turn is good for travel as confidence is what tourism depends on.
Faster is Better
Based on their motto ?citius est melius? which means faster is better, John Knell and Richard Reeves of the Intelligence Agency led delegates through their Reduced Shakespeare Company style 30 minute MBA citing five key factors for business success: sustainability, leadership, conversation, cash and culture. Full details of the session will be available shortly on the Convention website.
The Long and Short of It
Peter Long spoke to a packed business theatre about the economic context that the industry is working in, noting that the outlook today is very different from when he last addressed The Travel Convention in Tenerife just two years ago. He doesn?t think we?re out of recession yet, a state complicated by the combined effect of rising fuel costs and the weak pound. Despite this, consumers continue to take their main summer holiday although many are opting for all inclusive holidays in cheaper destinations. Despite the current economic uncertainty, Peter said that he "is optimistic about plans for expansion post-recovery" and he hopes that leaders will be entrepreneurial, dynamic and flexible.
We are Sailing
There was a real buzz at the first ever Cruise Forum held onboard Navigator of the Seas in Barcelona. Over 120 delegates heard about a very positive outlook for the cruise sector and debated some of the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. In summing up the session, Peter Shanks, managing director of Cunard and Chairman of the Cruise Section of the PSA, said ?how motivating it was to be in a room full of travel agents and to be able to pledge the support of the 35 PSA cruise line members over the coming years?.
