Industry veteran and Sunvil chairman Noel Josephides, who has operated through the Gulf and Iraq wars and 9/11 during his career, said that while people might “pause” before booking their holidays, he remained confident about the year ahead. “Bookings have been building in a steady flow in January and February,” he said.
The impact on consumer confidence will be the key factor, added Alan Bowen, legal advisor to the Association of Atol Companies. “This isn’t going to help at all – the question is whether the public gets spooked by events and the headlines,” he said. “Will it affect confidence to book? We’ve got to realise, at least in the very short-term, that we may see some reluctance to book.”
Bowen added the pronounced late-booking trend for holidays was likely to continue throughout 2022 “irrespective of Ukraine”.
’Capacity control’
Travel will, nonetheless, have to deal with some effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the…
