Organisations & Operators,

Entertainment giant Disney lost $4.7 billion (£3.6 billion) in the three months to June, as the virus forced it to close theme parks and delay film releases and production.
The figure is a sharp fall from the nearly $1.8 billion profit the company reported in the same period last year.
Disney said the pandemic was largely responsible for a $3 billion hit to its operating income.
In turn, this was mostly due to the disruption to its theme parks, where revenues plunged 85 per cent compared to 2019, chief financial officer Christine McCarthy said.
Overall revenue fell 42 per cent compared with last year to $11.8 billion.
The company said in a statement to markets: “The impact of Covid-19 and measures to prevent its spread are affecting our segments in a number of ways, most significantly at parks, experiences and products where we closed our theme parks and retail stores, some of which have now re-opened, suspended cruise ship sailings and guided tours and have seen an adverse impact on our merchandise licensing business.

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“Lower operating results for the quarter were due to decreases at both the domestic and international parks and experiences businesses and to a lesser extent, at our merchandise licensing and retail businesses.”
Disney said its domestic parks and resorts, cruise line business and Disneyland Paris were all closed for all of the three months to June.
Parks in Asia were closed for a portion of the quarter, with Shanghai Disney Resort re-opening in May and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort following in late June.
However, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort closed again in July.
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Nearly three million jobs in the UK look set to be lost due to the collapse of travel, according to deeply pessimistic figures from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
Somewhat implausibly, this accounts for virtually every job in the sector across the country.
WTTC economic modelling conducted less than two months ago predicted this ‘worst case scenario’ would occur if barriers to global travel, such as quarantine measures and blanket travel restrictions, were to remain in place.
While some travel bans have been removed, many others remain, with new restrictions likely to come into force to tackle the continuing threat posed by Covid-19 and possible second spikes.
However, the confusing patchwork of bans, quarantines and uncoordinated international testing and tracing measures, have deterred many people from travelling at all with the peak summer 2020 travel season “all but being wiped out”.

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WTTC estimates the UK now looks close to losing a staggering $186 billion from the tourism sector’s contribution to UK GDP, equating to a 73 per cent percent drop compared with 2019.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC chief executive, said: “It’s heart-breaking to see our worst fears for the UK and global tourism sector coming true.
“The jobs and livelihoods of millions of people who work throughout the sector are disappearing by the day, despite our warning this could happen.
“While we acknowledge the UK government’s efforts to support tourism during this crisis, the UK alone looks set to lose three million jobs in the sector, creating an economic black hole of US$186 billion in the country’s finances.
“This is due to an international failure to implement proper coordination to combat the pandemic.”
Context
In contrast to the scenario presented by WTTC, figures from the Office for National Statistic state the unemployment rate in the UK is currently 3.9 per cent.
A total of 1.3 million people are currently out of work in the UK – across all sectors.
While this figure is set to rise as the government tapers the coronavirus job retention scheme, unemployment has some way to go before it reaches levels predicted by the WTTC.
In a sign the worst may also be past, easyJet yesterday said it was increasing the number of flights it would offer this month by a quarter as demand rebounds.
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Hays Travel has begun consultation on as many as 878 job losses as the tourism sector continues to battle the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The company, which took on 2,000 former Thomas Cook employees when it went bust in October last year, currently had around 4,500 employees.
However, cuts are now likely following a government decision to reimpose quarantine procedures for travellers returning from Spain.
Owners John and Irene Hays said the restrictions meant hundreds of thousands of holidays had been cancelled.

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They were “devastated” staff would lose jobs “through no fault of their own,” the couple said.
In a joint statement, the Hays said they had “made every possible effort” to protect the jobs of all the staff, “including those who were employed when Hays Travel took on the Thomas Cook shops last October”.
The Sunderland-based company said it was now consulting with 344 staff training as travel consultants and the 534 who work in the foreign exchange division.
The firm said its experienced travel sales staff, apprentices and other head office staff were not affected by the cuts.
Hays Travel said it had a two-year turnaround plan in place, and that although 2020 “looked really bad,” bookings for 2021 were already up on the same period in 2019.
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TUI has announced it will close 166 stores across the UK and Ireland. In what will be seen as a major blow to the tourism industry, the travel giant said it had “accelerated” the closures as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. More

Michael Wale has been named chief executive of the Abercrombie & Kent Group.
Appointed by co-chairman Geoffrey Kent and Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio, he will take up the role at the start of October.
Wale joins the luxury travel company from Kerzner International, the owner of Atlantis and One & Only Resorts, where he was chief executive until earlier this month.
Before joining Kerzner, his career spanned almost 40 years with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, culminating as president for Europe, Africa & Middle East, directly overseeing the operations of 250 hotels and resorts, for its ten brands, in 60 countries.
Wale replaces Amerigo Perasso, who has held the role of chief executive with the company for a little under a year.
“With Michael, Abercrombie & Kent will start an exciting new chapter,” explained Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio.
“When guests book a holiday with us, they know we will guide them to amazing places, but the destination is a given. 

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“What they expect from us – and what keeps them coming back – is how we go the extra mile.
“Michael’s extensive experience in guest services and operations will take what A&K is known for to the next level.”
Wale is currently based in Dubai and will be relocating to Monaco. 
He will continue his association with Kerzner International as he joins the board of the company.
“I am thrilled to be joining the team at Abercrombie & Kent at this pivotal time in the company’s history,” said Wale. 
“I have travelled with A&K before and understand its distinctive approach to luxury experiential travel.
“I also look forward to working with Geoffrey and Manfredi, two titans of the travel industry, to build a bright future for our guests, partners and staff.”
Abercrombie & Kent is a luxury and adventure travel company.
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TUI has cancelled all British holidays to mainland Spain until August 9th in response to government decision to reintroduce quarantine procedures.
However, the firm said all those going to the Balearic and Canary Islands could still travel as planned from Monday – as both are excluded from the new rules.
The airline industry has reacted with dismay to the decision, which was unexpectedly announced over the weekend.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) is advising against all but essential travel to mainland Spain.
Quarantine measures apply to those returning from mainland Spain, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, such as Majorca and Ibiza.
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TUI UK has introduced a new, free holiday amends policy to provide added flexibility to customers.
The new policy allows holidaymakers to make one fee-free change to their booking – including the hotel and destination – regardless of whether they are affected by Covid-19.
This applies to new bookings made between today and September 30th, for travel between August 20th this year and the end of April next year.
The offer applies to trips using TUI Airways flights for TUI, First Choice and Marella Cruise holidays.

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The booking amendment must be made at least 28 days before departure.
Richard Sofer, commercial director, TUI UK & Ireland, said: “We are in extraordinary times with circumstances that are constantly evolving, and we know we need to be adaptable.
“We have listened to our customers and understand some are feeling apprehensive about travelling at the moment, but still want to book in a holiday to have something to look forward to.
“I am confident our new flexible amends policy will give customers the peace of mind they need to book a holiday knowing that they can change it if, for whatever reason, they decide they want to go somewhere different or delay their trip.”
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