Week three nearly done and dusted and another week in front of the camera on Zoom. This week I was all over the World from Albania to Zambia and many places in between. I’ve not only been on Zoom which has been really interesting but also in my home. I’m pleased to say however, that my quarantine ends this weekend, I can’t wait to get out for a walk!
I also really can’t wait to get out and about and pitch face to face. It’s good that we’re not spending cash on trains and planes and time travelling but I really miss luke warm train coffee and the sound of the really important man on the train. Most of all though I miss meeting travel agents and sharing news and updates.
I only left my role at Jet2 recently so I know lots of former BDM’s and KAM’s will really miss interaction with travel agents too. The stories, the mostly positive response you get from them, and more importantly the buzz when a visit turns into a sale. Travel agents are the heart beat of our industry they need to updated more so they can offer knowledge to their customers.
From my conversations with suppliers this week its clear they have a strong desire to keep agents up to date on their brands. The question is when? When is the right time to invest again in seeing agents, when is the right time to launch an incentive, when do I launch a new marketing campaign?
I don’t have the answers as we don’t know when consumer confidence will return. With quarantine measures still very restrictive it’s difficult to plan. We need to government to sort out testing on arrival ASAP. Thirty countries now have this in place, why not the UK? The SPAA and airline chiefs are campaigning hard for this so let’s hope they have some success soon.
This week I plan to get outdoors more, no matter what the weather, and hopefully soon we will get back to a better a ‘new normal’. Remember the wise words of Billy Connolly….”there is no such thing as bad weather just the wrong clothing”
Have a great weekend and keep pestering your local MP to help the industry we all love.
Craig Davidson
