Eliana Willis

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    Classic Journeys launches to UK market

    After a quarter century of handcrafting trips of a lifetime, California-based tour operator Classic Journeys is tailoring its signature approach to private and small group trips to British tastes and mores.
    “English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish guests, guides and staff have been a hugely important part of the Classic Journeys story over the last 25 years.
    “And as we celebrate our first quarter century, we felt it was time to branch out properly into the UK,” said founder Edward Piegza.

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    “We are delighted to launch our new UK website and team to assist British guests as they research, plan and book their holidays.”
    One of the many factors that have long made Classic Journeys’ tours unique is that each is led by guides local to the area being visited – thus adding a level of in-depth knowledge unavailable on most commercial tours.
    Classic Journeys’ itineraries are available both on fixed dates or customised to individual needs and dates.
    To kick off the expansion in the UK, Classic Journeys has curated several new bespoke itineraries, tailor-made for British travellers, to complement their regular roster of tours.
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    WTTC unveils guidelines for safe return to adventure tourism

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    WTTC unveils guidelines for safe return to adventure tourism

    The World Travel & Tourism Council has unveiled the latest set of measures designed to rebuild global consumer confidence.
    The latest protocols for the global tourism sector focus on measures to ensure the reopening of adventure tourism, which should see an increase in popularity as travellers seek more unique experiences post Covid-19.
    WTTC held detailed discussions with key stakeholders and organisations to ensure maximum buy-in, alignment and practical implementation.
    The measures help to set clear expectations of what travellers can experience in the ‘new normal’ which offer safe environments as travel restrictions are eased.
    Backed by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the WTTC protocols also consider guidelines from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centre for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).

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    Within these protocols, the adventure tourism industry refers to a wide variety of adventure tourism experiences including cycling, rafting, trekking, skiing, snowboarding, wildlife safaris and culinary tours, among others.
    Not only are these activities mostly outdoors, thus limiting time spent in indoors; but group sizes can be managed to allow for physical distancing.
    It is expected that this type of tourism will see growth in the post-Covid landscape.
    Gloria Guevara, WTTC chief executive, said: “Adventure tourism is becoming increasingly popular amongst travellers and will represent a key component to travel in the new normal.
    “According to our recently launched Covid-19 travel demand recovery dashboard, it is also one of the fastest growing segments, which is why it is vital to establish measures allowing safe travels for adventure travellers.
    “Consumer confidence is crucial for tourism to resume.
    “We know travellers will want to explore the world around them once more, so long as they are confident in their safety.”
    WTTC divided the new guidance into four pillars including operational and staff preparedness; delivering a safe experience; rebuilding trust and confidence; and implementing enabling policies.
    Measures include:
    Reduce participant capacity limits for activities as appropriate to allow for physical distancing.
    Ensured activity difficulty levels do not exceed guest ability and skill, thus decreasing the need for a possible rescue.
    Provide clear, consistent, and up-to-date communication on new health protocols.
    Promote contact tracing apps if required by local legislation.
    Inform guests about support available if questions or concerns arise.
    Encouraged guests to purchase tickets online if possible.
    Keep the same households, families, or members of group bookings together for all activities to lower risk of exposure for those outside of that unit, wherever possible.
    Ensure, where possible, that each guest can handle their own equipment and gear for the duration of the trip.
    Limited physical contact and queuing where possible.
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    Travel industry seeks further support in upcoming Budget

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    Travel industry seeks further support in upcoming Budget

    Associations from across the travel industry came together earlier to discuss how they can continue working together to lobby government on the need for specific support to save jobs and businesses in the travel industry, following the coronavirus crisis.
    ABTA, Advantage Travel Partnership, AITO, ATAS, the BTA, the SPAA and UKinbound met via video conference to discuss shared objectives such as regionalising quarantine, introducing testing and ongoing salary and grant support schemes.
    The associations agreed to increase coordination, and the combination of efforts ahead of the Budget this autumn – with regular meetings to exchange insight and knowledge and undertake joint activities to try to secure the targeted support the industry desperately needs.
    Recent research from ABTA, who convened the meeting, revealed that 39,000 jobs have already been lost or are at risk in the industry.
    Many more are in the pipeline as 78 per cent of companies are yet to start redundancy consultations but expect to in the coming months.

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    Luke Petherbridge, director of public affairs at ABTA, said: “The entire travel industry is going through a period of uncertainty and challenge like it has never seen before.
    “It is our job as travel associations to make the case for our industry.
    “We must come together to highlight the vital strategic importance of travel for the wider UK economy, as businesses that underpin the country’s aviation connectivity, and support inward investment and export earnings.
    “Alongside championing the importance of the sector, we must also offer Ministers practical and workable solutions to problems facing the leisure and business travel sectors.”
    ABTA originally launched the Save Future Travel campaign in April which saw over 25,000 emails sent to MPs asking them to support the industry.
    The coalition partners will be looking to build on that platform, as well as engaging with other industry campaigns, and the Future Aviation Group, a group of MPs from across the political spectrum that is supported by ABTA, the AOA, Airlines UK, and other bodies in the aviation sector, to raise awareness in parliament of the need for tailored support.
    The group is looking to involve other interested travel trade bodies and associations, and any organisations that are interested in getting involved are invited to contact ABTA.
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    WTTC warns United States could see huge losses from tourism closure

    The United States economy stands to lose a total of $155 billion this year due to the collapse of international travel during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to latest research conducted by the World Travel & Tourism Council.
    The trade body finds steep declines in the number of travellers visiting the country due to the poor handling of the pandemic could result in international visitor spending dropping by a 79 per cent.
    This loss to the American economy equates to a shortfall of $425 million a day.
    Gloria Guevara, WTTC chief executive, said: “The economic pain and suffering caused to millions of households across the United States, who are dependent upon tourism for their livelihoods, is evident from our latest shocking figures.
    “The lack of international visitors to the US due to the pandemic could wipe out more than $155 billion from the US economy alone – a loss of $425 million a day – from which it may take years to recover.”

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    The harsh impact on United States tourism is laid bare by WTTC as the economic fallout from coronavirus continues to burn its way through the sector.
    Nearly 12.1 million jobs in the country are at risk of being lost in a ‘worst case’ scenario mapped out by WTTC economic modelling.
    “We urgently need to replace blanket quarantine measures with rapid, comprehensive and cost-effective test and trace programmes at departure points across the country,” said Guevara.
    “This investment will be significantly less than the impact of blunt quarantines which have devastating and far-reaching socio-economic consequences.
    “The recent $750 million deal with Abbott labs for $5 rapid test is very promising in this respect, and we hope that it allows the United States to continue to reopen and can prove as a blueprint for a way forward for other countries.
    “Targeted test and tracing will help rebuild consumer confidence to travel.”
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    Aviation demand crawls back upward

    The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported that passenger demand in July continued at critically low levels.
    Measured in revenue passenger kilometres, or RPKs, passenger numbers were 80 per cent below levels seen in the same month last year.
    This was somewhat better than the 87 per cent year-over-year decline recorded in June, primarily driven by domestic markets, most notably Russia and China.
    Market reopening in the Schengen Area helped to boost international demand in Europe, but other international markets showed little change from June.
    Capacity was 70 per cent below 2019 levels and load factor sagged to a record low for July, at 58 per cent.

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    “The crisis in demand continued with little respite in July.
    “With essentially four in five air travellers staying home, the industry remains largely paralysed.
    “Governments reopening and then closing borders or removing and then re-imposing quarantines does not give many consumers confidence to make travel plans, nor airlines to rebuild schedules,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA director general.
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    TUI Group cancels Zante trips over Covid-19 fears

    TUI Group has cancelled all holidays to a party resort on a Greek island because of customers failing to follow coronavirus safety measures.
    The travel giant said it would no longer be offering trips to the resort of Laganas, on Zante, from tomorrow.
    It comes after six clusters of cases were linked to flights from the island.
    The decision comes as both Scotland and Wales reintroduce quarantine measures for guests returning from Greece over fears they may bring Covid-19 cases back.
    The Scottish government announced all travellers arriving from Greece would be asked to self-isolate for 14-days after 04:00 on Thursday, while Wales’ health minister has asked those arriving from Zante to quarantine.

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    Commenting on the move, a TUI spokesperson said: “Following the recent positive cases from customers retuning from Zante, we have taken the decision to no longer offer holidays in the resort of Laganas from Thursday.
    “Laganas is a popular resort with young people who traditionally holiday in large groups of friends.
    “The health and safety of our colleagues and customers is our primary concern and recent cases shows that some customers are not following social distancing and Covid-19 safety measures.
    “It is therefore the right thing to do to protect and reduce a now identified potential risk to others by no longer offering holidays to this specific resort.”
    Nearly 200 people faced self-isolation after at least 16 passengers on a Tui flight from Zante to Cardiff Airport tested positive for the virus earlier this week.
    Passengers on board subsequently claimed others were not following Covid-19 rules.
    The spokesperson added: “The recent cases in Wales have highlighted a demographic of customers that have recently returned from Zante and subsequently tested positive .
    “As the only airline that flies between Cardiff and Zante it has allowed us to understand trends that may also be seen in other areas of the UK.
    “We believe that with good track and trace processes, testing at airports and a nuanced approach to regional travel corridors, customers can continue to travel safety.”
    TUI said customers due to travel to Greece from Scotland will be able to amend or cancel their holiday in light of the quarantine announcement.
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    Titan Travel pushes return back to February next year

    Titan Travel has pushed back the restart all of operation until February 1st next year.
    The decision impacts on land tours, as well as river and ocean cruises.
    Clients affected by the decision can receive up to £100 per person off a rebooked tour departing before the end of January 2022.
    Andy Squirrell, managing director, Titan Travel, commented: “We have listened to and understand the concerns some travellers have been feeling ahead of their upcoming holiday due to the ongoing outbreak of Covid-19.
    “With this in mind, and acknowledging the fluidity of travel advice at this time, Titan has taken the decision to restart all operations from February.”

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    He added: “By doing so, we hope to provide travellers and our trade partners with clarity and reassurance in Titan by not cancelling our tours at short notice while providing affected clients with a choice of next steps in advance to find the best solution for them.
    “We are confident that our new policies’, including Peace Of Mind, Flexi-Deposit and Protection Promise gives agents and their clients the control, flexibility and assurance they seek to book and travel with confidence.”
    Earlier this year Titan introduced a Peace Of Mind policy to provide travellers with the option to postpone or transfer onto another holiday at a later date should they wish.
    Titan said it would continue to monitor the situation closely until operations resume and will keep all agents updated on the status of clients’ holiday alongside the latest health and safety protocols on its tours.
    All agents with clients affected by the extended suspension of are expected to be contacted by a member of the sales team explaining next steps.
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    WTTC calls for Covid-19 testing programme as tourism losses mount

    As much as £22 billion looks set to be lost from the UK economy due to the collapse of international travel during 2020, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
    Travellers and tourists are staying away from the UK in droves because of “continuing uncertainty” around travel restrictions designed to curb the spread of Covid-19.
    As a result, this year international visitor spending could plunge by 78 per cent compared to 2019 levels, equating to a loss of £60 million a day, or £420 million a week, to the UK economy.
    The severe impact on UK tourism is laid bare by WTTC as the economic fallout from coronavirus continues to burn its way through the sector.
    Nearly three million jobs in the UK supported by tourism are at risk of being lost in a ‘worst case’ scenario mapped out by WTTC economic modelling.

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    However, figures from ABTA suggest a total of 39,000 jobs have been lost, or are at risk, to date.
    Gloria Guevara, WTTC chief executive, said: “The economic pain and suffering caused to millions of households across the UK, who are dependent upon tourism for their livelihoods, is evident from the latest WTTC figures.
    “The lack of international travel caused by the pandemic could wipe out more than £22 billion from the UK economy alone – a loss of £60 million pounds a day – from which it could take years to recover.”
    She added: “We urgently need to replace stop-start quarantine measures with rapid, comprehensive and cost-effective test and trace programmes at departure points across the country.
    “This investment will be significantly less than the impact of blunt quarantines which have devastating and far-reaching socio-economic consequences.
    “Targeted test and tracing will also rebuild consumer confidence to travel.
    “It will enable the restoration of vital ‘air corridors’ between countries and regions with similar Covid-19 case rates.”
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