Advantage 2012: Consortium admits to 6% fall in mainstream holiday bookings
Mainstream holiday bookings through Advantage Travel Centres have fallen 6% year on year, but members have seen "huge growth" in specialist areas, chief executive John McEwan said at this year’s annual conference in Malta.
Members have also seen an 8.5% rise in corporate travel business, in a market that is broadly flat.
McEwan said Advantage was performing well, given that the mainstream holiday market overall was 8% down year on year.
"People tend to see the TUI or Thomas Cook figure but it doesn’t describe what is happening in luxury and other markets," he said.
"The same thing is happening in cruising; mainstream cruise operators are having a difficult time, but specialists are doing remarkably well."
Advantage revenue from its leisure business is up 5% compared with last year. "That’s pretty good as far as we are concerned," said McEwan.
He said Advantage agencies would become increasingly important to independent tour operators who face being squeezed out by travel giants TUI and Thomas Cook. "Thomas Cook-Co-op is putting more pressure on the group to sell more in-house product, and we are seeing the same with TUI, which has said publicly that it wants to grow its controlled distribution, which is already at 80%.
"It’s crucially important for independent operators to have an independent retail chain, and we fit that bill."
Overall, Advantage Travel Centres’ turnover reached £3.5bn this year, a £100m increase on last year. "This makes us the largest travel retailer in the UK," added McEwan. Ninety-six new members have joined this year, including 30 from Consort in Nothern Ireland and Midcounties Co-op. "With these new members, whose figures we havent’ included yet, we are set to grow even bigger," added McEwan.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025