Organisations & Operators,

Hornblower has closed on the acquisition of leading experiential travel group, Journey Beyond.
The Australian company will join a growing portfolio of travel experiences and further expand its global footprint in Australia with a presence in 111 countries and territories worldwide.
“In our continued efforts to position Hornblower as a global leader in experiences and transportation, we are always exploring growth opportunities that will help expand our guest offerings and leverage our core capabilities of operating world-class customer experiences,” said Kevin Rabbitt, chief executive, Hornblower Group.
“As two organisations with unmatched expertise in the experiential travel space, Journey Beyond aligns perfectly within our business strategy and core mission of creating amazing experiences for our guests.
“We look forward to growing the rich and unmatched business operations the Journey Beyond team has built as the premiere experiential travel company in Australia.”
Journey Beyond owns 13 Australian brands, operating in 60 destinations Australia-wide.  ADVERTISEMENT“We are thrilled to join the Hornblower global portfolio of renowned brands.  Journey Beyond and Hornblower share the same values and commitment towards what we do best – delivering one-of-a-kind guest experiences that create lasting memories,” said Chris Tallent, chief executive, Journey Beyond.
“We look forward to this next venture and we are excited to see Journey Beyond thrive within Hornblower Group into 2022 and beyond.”
With the completion of this acquisition, Journey Beyond will join Hornblower’s world-class offerings which include water-based experiences, land-based experiences, overnight cruises and experiences and ferry and transportation services across 111 countries and 125 cities.
The acquisition will support Hornblower’s overall business strategy to grow its product offerings in some of the most vibrant travel and tourism markets in the world.

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Uncertainty brought about by the Omicron variant of Covid-19 negatively impacted the travel and tourism sector in Europe at the end of 2021, hampering prospects for its recovery in the first quarter of 2022.
Nonetheless, optimism remains as the European Travel Commission (ETC) predicts tourist arrivals to be 20 per cent below pre-pandemic levels in 2022.
This is in spite of “numerous challenges” still facing the sector, the body said.
The most recent edition of the European Tourism Trends & Prospects quarterly report from ETC continues to monitor the Covid-19 impact on the sector, examining how travel activity is rebounding as the world learns to live with the virus.
Commenting following the publication of the report, Luís Araújo, ETC president, said: “From our report, it is clear to see the stifling impact of uncertainty brought about by Omicron. ADVERTISEMENT“ETC is optimistic that the European travel sector will overcome Omicron and the many other challenges present in 2022.
“However, the sector’s resilience is contingent on the EU being proactive in the development of endemic strategies that will allow for the loosening of travel restrictions for intra-European and international travel alike.
“As we learn to live with Covid-19, governments across Europe have to strike the right balance between managing health risks and facilitating mobility.”
In 2021, strong vaccination coverage in Europe, the EU Digital Covid-19 Certificate and the easing of travel restrictions, set fertile grounds for a tourism revival.
However, the emergence of the Omicron variant at the year-end stunted this recovery as travel restrictions were reinstated to battle record-breaking infection rates.
Tens of thousands of commercial flights throughout Europe were cancelled over the Christmas period due to staffing shortages.
Although not as severe as when the pandemic originally took hold in 2020, airline losses totalled €18.5 billion in 2021 resulting in a staggering 1.4-1.5 billion fewer passengers than in 2019.
While Omicron is expected to stifle recovery of Europe’s travel sector in the first quarter of 2022, the travel outlook for Europe as a whole remains positive.
With the realisation that the new variant, although highly contagious, is far from the threat it was initially deemed to be, many travel restrictions in Europe are beginning to be relaxed.
Driven by strong domestic and intra-European travel, the overall travel demand is projected to be 20 per cent below pre-pandemic levels in 2022.
Whereas domestic travel is expected to exceed pre-pandemic peaks in 2022, international travel will be slower on the uptake and is not likely to fully recover until 2024.

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Virgin Galactic has opened ticket sales to the public for the first time, providing an opportunity to purchase a trip to the edge of space.
“At Virgin Galactic, we believe that space is transformational,” said Virgin Galactic chief executive, Michael Colglazier.
“We plan to have our first 1,000 customers on board at the start of commercial service later this year, providing an incredibly strong foundation as we begin regular operations and scale our fleet.”
Virgin Galactic spaceflight reservations also provide access to the Future Astronaut membership community – designed and curated to bring inspiration, excitement, and adventure from the time of ticket purchase to spaceflight and beyond.
Members will enjoy access to money-can’t-buy experiences, events, trips and space-readiness activities while they await their spaceflight. ADVERTISEMENTThe spaceflight itself launches from Spaceport America in New Mexico.
Starting with several days of spaceflight preparedness activities, future astronauts will stay with their guests at forthcoming custom accommodations.
Guests will enjoy bespoke itineraries and world-class amenities during astronaut-specific training programs.
During spaceflight, astronauts will experience a 90-minute journey including a signature air launch and Mach-3 boost to space.
The spaceship gracefully flips while astronauts enjoy several minutes of out-of-seat weightlessness and breath-taking views of Earth from the 17 windows.
Upon return from this transformational experience, astronauts will begin a meaningful journey to create positive impact with the perspective that can only come from seeing our beautiful planet from space.
Spaceflight reservations are a total price of US$450,000.

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VisitEngland has launched the next phase of its domestic Escape the Everyday campaign, to encourage short-breaks to English cities this spring and early summer.
The £1 million programme is putting the spotlight on the quality destinations, visitor attractions and experiences on offer across England’s cities, to build back demand for domestic breaks and boost consumer confidence in taking trips.
The campaign also aims to support cities, city attractions and regional gateways, hit hard by the lack of international visitors and their spending.
VisitEngland director, Andrew Stokes, said: “With the weather warming up and spring in the air, now is a great time to connect with loved ones on a short break in England.
“Whether you are looking to experience England’s rich history, stay at an eco-friendly retreat, or discover hidden foodie gems, our cities have attractions, tours and experiences to suit all interests. ADVERTISEMENT“Businesses are eager to see visitors and we want everyone to get involved, book a short-break to our cities and kick-start the tourism season.”
The digital, partner-led campaign kicks-off this week and runs through to March 31st with content on LADbible, and its sister channel UNILAD, and Buzzfeed showcasing activities and experiences in English cities.
The campaign will run across the partners’ digital channels, including Instagram and Facebook, with city-focused content ranging from short films.
VisitEngland has estimated the loss in domestic tourism spending in England, in 2020 and 2021 combined, to be more than £77 billion.

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Travel Counsellors reports that after the first week of February, bookings show no signs of slowing down, and are now at the same levels as 2019. 
January saw the company’s biggest booking month post-Covid-19 and was the second most successful month ever in its 27-year history, with new group bookings of over £71 million, beating the previous two months combined for both leisure and corporate travel.
Furthermore, the business reported that 320 of its Travel Counsellor business owners celebrate their best ever sales month too.
This comes as a recent customer survey by the independent company revealed over a quarter of all customers said they were planning to spend more on their holidays in 2022. 
This is reflected in the latest figures, which show overall spend per booking increased by 13 per cent in January. ADVERTISEMENTSome 80 per cent of those questioned said they would be more likely to book their 2022 holiday through a travel advisor rather than online and 64 per cent of respondents said the most important factor when considering travel plans is to book with someone they trust.
The company’s corporate travel sales are also showing a continued strong recovery, with nearly 90 per cent of UK Corporate bookings being for immediate travel in February and March, reflecting the growing demand in the small- and medium-sized space for a high touch, personalised travel service from clients.
Top selling destinations continue to be for the UK and USA.
Kirsten Hughes, managing director of Travel Counsellors, said: “We are now seeing a consistent recovery both in bookings and sales volumes for leisure and corporate travel.
“This is further reinforced by the growing demand from consumers for trusted travel advice and reassurance coming out of the pandemic, highlighted in the feedback from the survey.
“Additionally, customers are spending more, as many trade up their previous travel plans and look for premium end product with a premium service to match.”

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The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has predicted the United States tourism sector will strongly rebound this year.
Barring further impact from Covid-19, the sector could make a $2 trillion GDP contribution, exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 6.2 per cent.
News of the strong recovery follows steady gains in the sector during 2021 and signals the welcome comeback of one of the most important economic drivers after almost two years of upheaval.
“Our latest forecast shows the recovery significantly picking up this year as infection rates subside and travellers continue benefitting from the protection offered by the vaccine and boosters,” said Julia Simpson, WTTC chief executive.
“As travel restrictions ease and consumer confidence returns, we expect a welcome release of pent-up tourism demand. ADVERTISEMENT“That, together with what we hope will be a strong consumer-led economic recovery, creates a bullish outlook for the sector.”
The WTTC is also predicting employment in the sector could also surpass pre-pandemic levels, reaching nearly 16.8 million jobs, above pre-pandemic levels by 200,000 jobs.
“The good news is our outlook delivers a clear message: If the right conditions exist, the tourism sector can rebound to deliver economic and employment benefits we have not seen since before the pandemic,” said Simpson.
“We encourage global leaders to consider the economic and employment benefits of boosting consumer confidence by allowing fully vaccinated travellers to move freely.”

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New research from ForwardKeys reveals that flight bookings to and from the UK have soared following the announcement that Covid-19 testing would no longer be required for fully vaccinated travellers entering the UK.
The day after the announcement by UK transport secretary, Grant Shapps, which was made on January 24th, combined inbound and outbound flight bookings jumped to 84 per cent of 2019 levels.
This was composed of a 106 per cent increase in outbound bookings, and a 47 per cent boost to inbound trips.
This news followed a series of relaxations in rules affecting travel to the UK, each triggering bookings spikes.
On January 5th, the UK said that from January 9th, fully-vaccinated travellers would be able to take a lateral flow instead of a PCR test on or before day two of their arrival in England. ADVERTISEMENTBenchmarked against pre-pandemic levels, the five destinations for which bookings recovered most strongly in January were Mexico (72 per cent up on 2019), the Maldives (54 per cent), Greece (22 per cent), Cyprus (20 per cent) and Barbados (16 per cent).
The typical seasonality patterns have returned and are evident in the recent recovery, with peaks showing for the forthcoming half-term break in February and the Easter holiday period, when looking at flight tickets confirmed in January.
In relative terms, the demand to travel abroad during the extended holiday weekend to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, in early June, is already 13 per cent ahead of 2019.

The destinations which are doing best for the upcoming half-term break are now all ahead of where they were at the end of January 2019.
In the lead is Mexico, which is followed by Pakistan, the Maldives, Barbados, Qatar, Bangladesh, the UAE and Portugal.
“The list is dominated by long haul destinations, which offer beach holidays or have a relatively strong market for visiting friends and relatives, such as Pakistan,” said Olivier Ponti, vice president of insights at ForwardKeys.
Bookings for Easter and summer holidays are relatively stronger than they are for the upcoming half-term break.
Benchmarked against the end of January 2019, half term bookings are 33 per cent behind, whereas Easter bookings are 29 per cent behind and summer is 16 per cent behind.
Compared to this time last year, when the UK was in a state of limited lockdown, bookings are, unsurprisingly, much healthier, 59 per cent ahead for Easter and 82 per cent ahead for summer.
The recent surge in outbound bookings has been closely followed by a modest revival in inbound demand.
“What I find particularly interesting is the continued dominance of classic sea and sun destinations,” said Ponti.
“A clear sign that the pandemic is still very much with us is the absence of a revival in city tourism or travel to airports strongly associated with skiing.
“However, if we see continental European countries relaxing their travel restrictions in the way the UK has just done, I expect to see a flood of holiday bookings that could exceed pre-pandemic levels, thanks to a release of the huge pent-up demand.”

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More than four times as many guests travelled with TUI in the first quarter of 2022 as in the same period last year, the company has revealed, as the travel rebound continues.
Revenue was five times higher than in the same period last year, with the travel giant taking in €2.37 billion.
However, TUI still recorded a net loss of €274 million for the first three months of the year, though this was an improvement on the losses of €676 million for the same period of 2021.
TUI chief executive, Fritz Joussen, said: “We expect a strong summer 2022.
“The path out of the pandemic is becoming increasingly clear. ADVERTISEMENT“Demand for travel is high across all markets.
“TUI has used the time to transform: we are leaner and more efficient today and are becoming more profitable than before the crisis.
“On this basis, we will push ahead with the repayment of the state aid granted and the focus on new growth.”
TUI said the framework conditions for tourism have improved significantly, with government measures becoming “more predictable and reliable”.
The lifting of comprehensive restrictions has begun or is foreseeable in some markets, the company said, with the United Kingdom and Denmark leading the way.

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