Tips for buying or selling a travel business, Travel Fundamentals, airline and cruise trends and more.

Well, here we are, hurtling towards the end of 2024. Overall, it's been a topsy-turvy kind of year for the UK travel sector: against a tricky backdrop, there've been plenty of positives. But booking patterns are all over the shop. And many of our smaller specialists have needed more grit than the winter road sweepers - something we discussed at the always excellent AITO conference in Valladolid recently. You can find out more below.

This month's Travel Fundamentals explores the what's behind these trends alongside the latest financial releases from airlines, cruise, and OTAs. And you can catch up on our latest TTC Insights Travelcast, where we had a fabulous time chatting about M&A trends. A cracker to round off the year!

In this blog post, we summarise the key takeaways from recent travel company results. Including how short-haul and long-haul airlines have performed, the trends reshaping the cruise market, and what forward bookings reveal about the travel landscape heading into 2025.

Plus, we dive into the results of our poll of 50 travel businesses asking about their outlook for forward bookings compared to the same time last year.

<< Read the full post for detailed insights >>

Employee Ownership Trusts, valuing your business and considerations for buying and selling were all hot topics on our latest TTC Insights Travelcast. We also covered current trading, the economic backdrop and consumer fundamentals. You can watch the full episode now.

Top takeaways from the event include:

1. Consumer spending: According to the Barclays Consumer Spending Report, spending on travel across all categories continues to outpace overall consumer spending. [18:00]
2. Listed company announcements: Ryanair and IAG's recent results tell very different stories. Ryanair's half-year profits fell by 18%, despite a 9% increase in passenger numbers. Fares dropped 15% in the first quarter and 7% in the second. In contrast, IAG's third-quarter results revealed a ￡251 million increase in operating profit for British Airways, alongside a 5% improvement in margins compared to the same quarter last year. [18:14]
3. M&A - Employee Ownership Trusts: There is an increasing trend of Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) in the sector, and we are currently in discussions with several businesses exploring this model. EOTs offer numerous benefits for employees and are an attractive option for business owners looking to exit, thanks to their tax advantages. [32:00]
4. M&A - three things to think about:

• Be prepared for the regulatory considerations. Involve the regulators early, especially if your transaction is debt-funded.
• Plan for due diligence well in advance. While a deal won’t necessarily fall apart due to due diligence, it can influence the final valuation.
• Ensure your shareholders’ goals are aligned. If you have multiple shareholders, they likely have different priorities, so it’s crucial to get everyone on the same page from the start. [58:13]

<< Download the recording >>

As we approach the final weeks of the year, we're seeing a rise in consumer confidence and a sustained boost in travel spending. The strong demand for travel continues to fuel early bookings, and recent company announcements reflect optimism for continued growth in the year ahead. Meanwhile, industry experts are already making their predictions for the top trends to watch in 2025.

In this month's Travel Fundamentals, we look at consumer spending, how trading is going for travel businesses and the latest listed company results. Here's a sneak preview, and download the full edition to get all the details.

Consumer backdrop:

Despite a slight dip in overall spending last month, Barclays reported that “consumer confidence remains strong,” with non-essential card spending increasing by 0.8% as the festive season gets underway. Spending and transactions across all travel categories continue to show robust growth compared to the same period last year.

GfK also reported an increase in major purchase intentions ahead of Black Friday, which contributed to a rise in all five of their confidence measures. However, insights from ABTA’s Travel Trends event served as a reminder that many homeowners face the end of favourable mortgage deals this winter, which could impact discretionary spending in the months ahead.

<< Get all the details in the full blog post >>

TTC's Martin Alcock spoke at?AITO's Overseas Conference recently. He explained that trading conditions are becoming "less clear cut" as the performance gap between small and medium-sized travel businesses and large corporations.

"Travel Trade Consultancy director Martin Alcock said the industry was “probably in a better place than last year” but admitted it was “not great” for many tour operators in the current market, particularly smaller specialists.

Alcock said the fact the total market for Atol holders had reached 33.3 million passengers – the biggest in its history– suggested there was optimism among the larger players for 2025 but noted that 80% of the capacity was now held by the top 10 Atol holders."

<<Read the full article >>

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 44 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.