July 2024: ATOL renewal tips, scaling a business, Travel Fundamentals and more.
Travel Trade Consultancy | B Corp?
Supporting travel businesses through complex regulatory, financial and strategic challenges.
From politics to penalty shootouts, it's been a lively few weeks!
Political volatility has been a UK perma-feature for far too many years, giving our sector plenty to think about on top of the day job. So as the dust settles on Labour's win, a period of stability would be hugely welcome.
Do major sporting events like the Euros influence holiday buying decisions? Hard to say for sure, but PwC/TTG's latest survey suggested many would-be overseas holidaymakers are still undecided this year. Some sectors, notably cruise, have continued to report record volumes and pricing throughout the last six months. And as inflation eases, confidence returns, and torrential rain continues to wash out domestic holidays; we might see a gush of late bookings.
In this month's newsletter, we talk about scaling up with Heidi's Finance Director, Adam Pennyfather. We've got renewal tips from Simon Brodie, and we hear about the growing movement to make travel fairer.
Consumer spending currently remains weak, despite easing cost of living woes and improving confidence. Meanwhile, travel booking volumes appear robust, with some sectors, notably cruise, performing strongly. However, pricing growth appears to be on the wane.
GfK reported a third consecutive improvement in consumer confidence, and inflation finally dropped to the Bank of England’s stated 2% target, raising the prospect of interest rate cuts. However, Barclays reported that non-essential spending remained weak, with consumers cutting back in many categories. While spend on travel and airlines remained in growth, the rate has slowed from earlier in the year.
TTC client Heidi recently raised ￡5.6m in a funding round to help scale their ski business. On a recent TTC Travelcast, Heidi’s Finance Director, Adam Pennyfather joined Martin Alcock and Simon Brodie to talk about the challenges of scaling up. You can find out more in this clip from the event.
We’re in the thick of it helping our clients get ready for the September ATOL renewals. If you haven’t started thinking about yours yet, we recommend doing this as soon as possible to avoid paying the higher fee. In this video, Simon Brodie shares some useful tips for a successful renewal:
?? Apply before 1 August to benefit from the lower application fee.
?? Speak to your ATOL Reporting Accountant (ARA) as soon as possible.
?? Ensure you're up-to-date with your reporting.
?? If applying for a licence for more than ￡20million worth of ATOL sales, be prepared to provide additional information to the CAA.
‘Last week reinforced my belief that the travel industry is one of the best sectors to work in.’
We recently attended two exceptional events; a Travel by B Corp meet-up and the International Women in Travel & Tourism Forum (IWTTF).
Reflecting on both events, it’s clear the travel industry is evolving towards a more inclusive, diverse, and sustainable future. Travel by B Corp has reinforced our commitment to using travel as a force for good. Meanwhile, the IWTTF provided invaluable insights into the challenges and opportunities in our industry, highlighting the importance of allyship, diversity and inclusion.
Read more about what Lucy Dean and Eleanor Gibson took away from the event in this post.
If you loved this content, you can find a whole lot more over on our news & insights page.
About Travel Trade Consultancy
We’ve spent years helping travel companies do their best work. Some of the biggest travel businesses in the world trust us to solve their regulatory, strategic or financial problems.
We’ve helped travel start-ups launch, tour operators improve operations, and airlines get off the ground.
Plus, our 67 years spent working for the UK travel regulator the Civil Aviation Authority, means we bring a unique perspective to the table along with our know-how.
If you think we might be able to help your travel business, reach out to us at [email protected] - we'd love to chat.