May news
And New Zealand is open!!! Very big news that NZ has followed Australia and the rest of the world and opened for visitors. It is obviously starting with family visiting friends and relatives but everyone else can now book for holidays later in the year. And I can tell you that they are booking!!!
Australian news is that Qantas have announced that they will fly non-stop from London to Sydney https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-61294894 this is clearly great news and good PR for Australia just before ATE
Trailfinders and South Australia Tourist Commission have joined together to promote the working holiday visas and getting backpackers to Adelaide with a £10 offer including flights! https://www.trailfinders.com/special-offers/fly-to-adelaide-for-just-10...
I have been to see all the UK product managers and spoken to all the Scandinavian product managers over the last month, great to see them all again and hear what is going on. A very simple summary is that all agents are short on staff, both front-line selling and back-office admin so expect delays on responses to emails and forget getting any access.
Enquires, old bookings and fresh bookings are all happening, huge numbers and demand with not enough staff to service them. This is exacerbated by slow responses from airlines, hotels, and ground handlers as they are also low on staff and unable to service demand. There are worse problems to have but everyone is struggling to keep up.
ATE and FTE are starting very soon with many of the product managers heading over to Fiji and Sydney. A lot are staying behind as it is so busy, so we are having our own little event in London on 16th May, just a few destressing drinks!
Anyone looking for jobs in travel right now just give me a shout as Tourism Australia and the regions of Australia all need staff along with all the agents that I have spoken to in the last month.
Just to show that staff are needed everywhere, BA and Easyjet are both offering £1,000GBP incentives to work for them. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61460378 and BA https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61104230