The events of 11 September and consequent effect on the world economy has already had a significant effect on the British travel industry.

Job Losses

In the last two weeks, Thomas Cook and First Choice have both announced significant job losses in the UK. On Friday Thomas Cook announced it has given its 16,000-strong UK workforce the option of taking voluntary redundancy, unpaid leave or reducing their hours in a bid to cut costs. Specialist Holiday Group (SHG), which includes Thomson Ski and Snowboard, Crystal Holidays and Simply Travel, has also been shedding UK staff.

First Choice has cut capacity by 15% for this winter and is poised to slash capacity for next summer by 20%. The company claims forward bookings have fallen by nearly one-third since September 11. Online companies, ebookers and Travelocity have also both announced redundancies in an effort to reduce costs.

Ski Industry Reaction

The ski industry has reacted bullishly, with most companies claiming the industry will prove resistant to any reduction in bookings.

Doug Sager from The Times reported on Saturday that none of the dozen ski tour operators he questioned reported so much as one holiday cancellation.

The question of a possible recession is raised, which would be a blow, given the strong growth of last season. The recent Industry Report from SHG, published on 18 September, claimed that the overall ski market increased by almost 20% last year, with 921,000 passengers going out to resorts.

At the time, the report suggested a similar trend for winter 2001/02, claiming an increase in sales of between 18-26% for the major companies and strong tour operator confidence. Chris Evangelou, Marketing Services Manager for SHG, told Natives that 'we are still taking US bookings' and that 'overall bookings are still going very well'.

Although the SHG report concentrates only on bookings via travel agents and not direct business, Lynsey Devon from Inghams, agreed that bookings were '27% ahead compared to the same period last year'. However, she also pointed out that in the two weeks following September 11, sales to the US were down by 50% on previous weeks.

Europe to grow in popularity

The SHG report had already suggested that North America's market share had dropped by 3% last year, mainly due to the adverse rate of exchange.

Devon expects this swing to continue and warns holiday-makers to book early. 'European ski resorts are experiencing a surge in bookings from local markets because it doesn't involve air travel. Switching long haul destinations for holidays closer to home will put pressure on beds. There is a danger of a shortage in the popular spots.'

Other Industry Trends

Low cost airlines like Easyjet and Ryanair continue to make access to the Alps more affordable, and with car hire and accommodation easy to book, independent travel looks set to increase its share of the market again.

The challenge of the young audience in the snowboarding sector is also identified in the SHG report as a key area that will change the products offered by tour operators.

Leading Ski Tour Operators 2000/01

1. Crystal Holidays 136,000 (113,000 last year)
2. Inghams 98,000 (70,000)
3. Thomson Holidays 80,000 (61,000)
4. First Choice 65,000 (54,000)
5. Neilson 50,000 (53,000)

NB These figures are produced by SHG who own Crystal Holidays and Thomson. They are not officially recognised and can be subject to a signficant margin of error.

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