Short Brexit delay will wipe out 2019 river cruise market
A short delay to Brexit would be the worst case scenario for the river cruise industry, according to Scenic UK managing director Colin Downing.
He said postponing Britain’s exit from the EU for two or three more months would only increase uncertainty and further dampen holiday bookings.
If Britain is unable to agree a deal with the EU before its planned exit on March 29, the next best option for the travel industry would be delay our departure until 2021, said Downing.
Speaking candidly, he said Scenic’s bookings were already down 5% to 10% year on year, which he blamed on the uncertainty surrounding Brexit. However, Downing said other operators were as much as 50% down on year on year.
"It is really horrible, there is so much uncertainty, so the worst thing that could happen is that we have a two or three month delay to Brexit because then we’ll be into July and we will have lost the whole of the 2019 market."
Scenic was the first cruise operator to announce a no Brexit surcharge guarantee, a move which others have since followed. Downing said this had helped inspire confidence, but the new-to-cruise market has still been badly dented, he feels.
Nevertheless, he said Scenic was looking forward to the much delayed launch of its new luxury yacht Eclipse in mid-August, whose first year of sailing is almost fully booked up.
"We’ve been pretty overwhelmed by demand," said Downing, adding the ship’s 2021 cruises will be released shortly. "We’ve got a long wait list already for these cruises, so if anyone wants to go on Eclipse next year, they should add their names to the list now!"
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
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