‘New captains’ faced an impossible task
Friday, 09 Oct, 2009
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The new captains – are you having a laugh? Some of them were about as new as me and that’s saying something.
OK, I’m kidding, but come on, you were all thinking it.
Shiny and brand new they might not have been, but the captains did a reasonable job in a difficult session at the ABTA Convention.
The questions and the moderating couldn’t be faulted, but it was an impossible task to try to cover so many vested interests in such a short period of time.
Cosmos managing director Stuart Jackson, a late replacement for Travel Republic managing director Kane Pirie, tried bravely to explain the bed bank issue in under a minute while the Greek National Tourist Office director Sonia Panagiotaki (who did seem newer than most) kept telling us how wonderful her country was/is.
Lastminute’s Andy Washington, TUI’s Mike Bowers, Freedom’s Jane Atkins and Vueling’s Alex Cruz all made interesting points, but it’s rarely a good idea to have six different voices tackling all the industry’s problems in half an hour.
Before that, we had TUI’s top man Peter Long, who to be fair was asked better questions than ‘where do you go on holiday?’ (see yesterday’s comment).
The sessions came towards the end of what was an enjoyable convention, with plenty of variety in the break out sessions and an appropriate focus on cruising.
ABTA rarely gets a lot of credit, but deserves a pat on the back for putting on that show. And for all of us, it remains an invaluable opportunity to network.
So what about next year? My colleague Phil has suggested holding the event on a cruise ship and the more I think about it, the more disappointed I am that it wasn’t my idea.
What could be better in the current climate? The facilities would be excellent and the various bars would provide the perfect opportunity for networking. And if we went on a cruise to nowhere (ships don’t come to life until they’re at sea), we could also get the casinos open for a bit of black jack. Not sure where we’d play the football, though, but I still think it’s a belting idea.
Now we just need to get someone to lend us a ship..
Jeremy Skidmore
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