Eliana Willis

The Association of Specialist Travel Companies (AITO) has criticised the UK government for discouraging the booking of international holidays this summer.
All trips are currently banned until May 17th,
Speaking over the weekend, defence secretary Ben Wallace refused to rule out an extension to the ban in order to control the spread of Covid-19.
Wallace said that booking a trip abroad would be “premature”.
The remarks follow those of a scientist on the government SAGE advisory body who had argued holidays overseas are “extremely unlikely” because of the risk of travellers bringing variants to the UK.
The UK faces a “real risk” if people travel abroad, Mike Tildesley said.ADVERTISEMENTHowever, AITO chairman Chris Rowles said it was too early to predict what the situation would be, saying the industry was awaiting a report from the Global Travel Taskforce on April 12th.
“They are all jumping the gun,” he said.
“The travel industry deserves better, quite honestly. 
“We have fought now for 13 months, without respite, to keep our heads above water, refunding our clients often from our own pockets, without any sector-specific support, despite the Office of National Statistics declaring travel to be the worst-affected sector of all.”
AITO members have reported a dramatic slowdown in bookings this weekend, just as confidence had picked up with the success of the vaccination programme.
Rowles added: “It seems to have been overlooked that May 17th, the earliest date for international travel to restart, is more than two months away. 
“Destinations are working hard to ensure that visitors and locals alike will be safe when travel recommences – subject of course to one and all wearing face masks, socially distancing and hand washing, as recommended, for the foreseeable future.
“All we ask is for some common sense to be used.”

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The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) has released new figures illustrating the impact of Covid-19 on the hospitality sector in the region over the past year.
The impact was particularly acute from April to mid-June last year when there was literally “no activity” in some destinations, the trade body said.
Data received from member countries reveals that tourist arrivals to the region in 2020 fell to just over 11 million, a decline of 65 per cent when compared to the record 32 million tourist visits in 2019.
This was, however, better than the world average of a 74 per cent decline during the same period, as reported by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
This lower rate of decline in the region can be attributed to two key factors: a significant portion of the Caribbean’s winter season (January to mid-March) saw average levels of tourist arrivals when compared to 2019, and the fact that the main (summer) season in other regions coincided with the period where there was very limited international travel.
The slowdown was characterised by empty hotels and restaurants, deserted attractions, shut borders, laid-off workers, grounded airlines and crippled cruise lines.

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While the CTO said there has been some fluctuations in the levels of visitors for the remaining months of the 2020, the influx of visitors has not reached levels even closely comparable to those being experienced prior to March last year.
A period of virtually no tourism began in mid-March – the second quarter was the worst-performing with arrivals down by 97 per cent.
But tourists began visiting again in June as the sector began to reopen. 
Still, the fall-off in stayover arrivals continued through to September – when a gradual reversal began – and continued right up to December.
Cruise lines plying Caribbean routes remain non-operational due to a strict ban imposed by the US Centres for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
Like stayover arrivals, cruise was buoyed by the performance in the first three months of 2020, particularly the month of February, when there was a 4.2 per cent rise in visits.
However, a 20 per cent fall in the first quarter was followed by no activity for the remainder of the year as ships remained non-operational.
The overall result was a 72 per cent slide to 8.5 million cruise visits, when compared to the 30 million visits in 2019.
Image: Jamaica Tourist Board
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A rapidly evolving business travel landscape has been the catalyst for award-winning global travel management company FCM to transform its brand identity and take a fresh approach to developing a new tech platform.
With the global pandemic causing a seismic shift in the business travel industry, FCM has made it a priority to address customers’ pain points and their travel programmes by investing in new technology, rapid implementation, enhanced account management and sustainable and secure travel.
FCM’s new look is designed to showcase the brands’ distinctively flexible and unconventional approach to providing agile travel management services to its customers globally and locally.
The end-to-end rebrand has been launched in 97 countries across all websites, customer communications and social media platforms.
A core component of the announcement is that FCM is forging ahead with development of a ground-breaking proprietary technology that directly targets customers’ pain points with current and legacy corporate travel technology.

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The in-house platform is an omnichannel offering that is being developed following extensive research globally among customers to understand the different concerns of their bookers, travellers and managers.
Findings of this research revealed customers need an all-encompassing platform that is consistent across all markets, but also fully flexible with a positive user experience and simple user interface.

FCM global chief technology officer, Adrian Lopez, said the vision for the platform is based on addressing six key pillars: a globally consistent booking experience; always available travel assistance; traveller safety and wellbeing support; sustainability; AI powered reporting and savings, and flexible integration capabilities.
“The development of FCM Platform’s core experience is already well advanced, including a new proprietary online booking solution planned for key markets and integration of AI enhanced chatbot tool Sam as the digital ‘avatar’, providing live chat and real-time assistance across all of the platform’s channels,” said Lopez.
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FCM is considered the World’s Leading Travel Management Company by voters at the World Travel Awards.
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In celebration of International Women’s Day, Insight Vacations is thrilled to launch a new 13-day itinerary, Venice & the Croatian Coast, A Women’s-Only Tour.
The trip is part of its Wander Women series of journeys created for women, by women.
The trip will take place in summer 2022 and will offer enriching travel experiences that cater to the diverse interests of female clients and introduce guests to inspiring women in communities across Croatia and also in to Slovenia.
The first women’s-only trip, Inspirational India was launched last year and is set to depart in October, which has booking availability.
The journey includes three #MakeTravelMatter Experiences designed to uplift local women in their communities and ensure Insight’s travels are used as a force for good while supporting the United Nations’ Global Goals.

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TreadRight ‘planet’ ambassador and environmentalist, Céline Cousteau will be a special guest on the Croatia trip.
She helps amplify women’s achievements as a documentary filmmaker and director.
With this year’s International Women’s Day theme being #ChooseToChallenge, Insight is celebrating women’s achievements by creating experiences that connect clients with women artisans, entrepreneurs, business and community leaders as well as by hiring women travel directors, local experts, coach drivers, experiences hosts and more.
“More than 50 per cent of the global workforce in our industry are women and female clients are yearning for uplifting and immersive experiences.
“On this International Women’s Day, we #ChooseToChallenge by seeking out and celebrating women’s successes with local female trailblazers, artisans and community leaders whom we visit and support across the globe,” said Ulla Hefel Böhler, global chief executive for Insight Vacations.
“Our newest Wander Women Croatia journey will highlight our meaningful #MakeTravelMatter Experiences where like-minded female guests can personally connect with outstanding local women and spend time with our inspiring TreadRight ‘Planet’ Ambassador, Céline Cousteau,” she concluded.
This special women’s-only guided tour is available with limited space as a single departure date, so clients are encouraged to book early to secure their spot.
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Saga has extended the current suspension of travel operations following publication of a new roadmap out of lockdown for the UK.
The company has told agents holiday and cruise operations will now begin on May 17th and June 27th, respectively.

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The health and wellbeing of guests and crew is number one priority, Saga said, with having taken the decision to extend the suspension against that backdrop.
A spokesperson for Saga said: “The health and safety of our guests and crew has been our number one priority and throughout the pandemic we have made all decisions with their wellbeing in mind.
“Following the release of the roadmap out of lockdown, we have taken the decision to delay the resumption of our holiday and cruise operations.
“As part of this decision, the inaugural cruise of Spirit of Adventure has been moved to July 26th.
“We have contacted all our guests who have been impacted by these changes and are discussing their options with them.”
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On the Beach Group has confirmed the appointment of former transport secretary Justine Greening to its board as a non-executive directors with immediate effect.
Most recently, after leaving government in 2018, Greening founded the Social Mobility Pledge campaign in that year to drive grass roots change through business and higher education.
Three years on, over 550 companies and 75 universities have committed to strategically drive social mobility through their respective organisations’ engagement with local communities.
Greening was member of parliament for Putney, Roehampton & Southfields from 2005 to 2019 and spent eight years as a minister, including six in cabinet.
Prior to her political career, she trained and qualified as a chartered accountant with PriceWaterhouse in the UK and Switzerland before taking a finance role at SmithKline Beecham followed by a strategy role at the newly formed GlaxoSmithKline.

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Richard Pennycook, chair of On the Beach, commented: “We are delighted that Justine has agreed to join the board of On the Beach as a non-executive director.
“Justine has had both a successful business career and an illustrious political career.
“Her important work upon leaving government to establish the Social Mobility Pledge has been instrumental in changing the way businesses and universities think about social mobility.”
He added: “As the travel sector recovers from the pandemic, we expect some fairly major reforms to the regulatory landscape.
“Justine’s experience, in and out of Westminster, will be invaluable as On the Beach navigates these reforms and pursues opportunities to grow our market share both in the UK and internationally.”
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Escape to Greece will launch this month, offering bespoke holidays to 27 destinations in the country, with over 400 hand-picked properties.
Aiming to attract discerning independent travellers looking mainly for four-star boutique hotels and eclectic villas, Escape to Greece launches under renowned ski operator, Holiday World.
Holiday World has a stellar 23-year track record in the ski holiday market, is ATOL protected and has a reputation for customer service, online technology and value for money.
Founder, Peter Brennan, said: “Escape to Greece has been born out of our love for Greece, its islands and the hospitable people.
“We have personally chosen our properties from the simple-style Lemon Tree Houses in Folegandros to the latest in stylish luxury such as Cayo Resort & Spa in Crete with its minimalist tones and incredible design influences.

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“Many of the properties are exclusive to us and our aim is to fill the gaps between the large operators who don’t offer the smaller islands and other Greek specialists who cannot always offer the depth of accommodation choice in each destination nor instant live availability.”
Greece is primed to be one of the first destinations to open up to UK travellers.
Holidays with flights are ATOL protected and accommodation-only bookings are secure thanks to the firm’s membership of the Travel Trust Association.
“All of our range can be booked online or via our customer service centre with or without flights from BA and Aegean Airlines.
Escape to Greece can also quote separately for low-cost carriers,” said Brennan.
“During these uncertain travel times, we are also offering flexible flight options with most of the hotels providing rates that can offer free cancellation.”
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