Newspapers report gloomy booking trends
UK: Tanks at Heathrow and looming war blamed for new industry slump
There are said to be lies, damned lies and statistics – and that could well be the case today, with newspaper claims that holiday bookings are down by anything between 18 and 70 per cent.
The Independent quotes an industry survey by AC Nielsen, which states that bookings for January are down about seven per cent on last year, which was in turn about 10 per cent down of the year before. The newspaper blames “the spectre of tanks parked at Heathrow and the looming war in the Gulf” for the slump, stating that holidays to the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and north Africa have been worst hit.
It quotes an ABTA spokesman thus: “Experience suggests that bookings will come back very quickly when the situation in Iraq is resolved. And places out of the line of fire are still doing well.”
Meanwhile, the Daily Express is sounding even more gloomy, claiming that family bookings have fallen by 50 per cent, with sales of holidays to Turkey down 70 per cent, and overall sales of holidays down 35 per cent. Though the tabloid newspaper does not specify where its figures come from, it feels confident enough to state that the slump “spells disaster” for the tourist business.
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 
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025
U.S.A. and Israel attacks on Iran impact air movements in the Gulf (Update 1.00pm CET)
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism