IT’S BEEN a short week for us all with Tuesday’s ANZAC Day commemoration, but it sure doesn’t feel like it, with – as usual – so much going on in the industry over the last few days. And before I get into the news, I want to start by pointing out a heartfelt letter to the editor from one of our travel agency owner readers, which reflects the reality that despite the current boom, parts of the industry are most definitely not out of the woods, with pressures from interest rates and inflation exacerbated particularly by Qantas’ aggressive approach to NDC and distribution costs.
Despite all that, probably the biggest update of the week was a profit upgrade from Helloworld Travel Limited, which is now forecasting a full-year underlying EBITDA result of between $38 million and $42 million – about $10 million more than previously predicted. The ASX announcement was perfectly timed to coincide with the HLO Owner Managers Conference (OMC) in Auckland, which for the first time ever combines all of the group’s retail brands. CEO Andrew Burnes noted exceptionally strong margins, while demand for travel appears to be unabated despite challenging economic headwinds.
The announcement saw HLO shares climb above the $3 mark for the first time since January 2020, and at least one stock market analyst noted that the combination of the cash on the company’s balance sheet, its shareholding in Corporate Travel Management and the strong share price “suggests an acquisition is possible”. We shall see.
Flight Centre’s well-known red-and-white retail brand also gave the industry a bit of a look under the hood in an update from the global leadership team, led by MD Andrew Stark, at an event in Sydney on Thursday. Stark and his colleagues gave an intriguing insight into the changing mix between online and in-store bookings, as well as popular destinations, family travel patterns, currency exchanges and booking lead times. Well worth a read in Friday’s Travel Daily.
We also saw the outworking of the new CATO Accreditation Scheme branding, with AFTA confirming withdrawals from the Australian Travel Accreditation Scheme (ATAS) by Bunnik Tours and Sun Island Tours, along with school group specialist Morcombe Travel. Bunnik co-CEO Dennis Bunnik (who is also CATO Chairman), and Sun Island’s John Polyviou, both espoused the “fit for purpose” design of the CATO membership program, while AFTA responded by noting that overall it had seen strong renewals for ATAS including higher numbers of tour operators within its ranks. For the moment it seems other major CATO members, including several members of the organisation’s Board, continue to see the value of the financial assessments undertaken by ATAS, and are keeping their feet firmly in both camps.
The lead-up to next month’s Federal Budget saw ATEC lodge a submission urging the Government to consider Australia’s visa regime which is increasingly seen as putting a barrier to visitation by some of our key markets. And AFTA also made a comprehensive submission to the long-running Parliamentary Inquiry into Australia’s Tourism and International Education sectors, highlighting the importance of outbound tourism to ensure that inbound tourism can operate successfully – not to mention the key role of travel agents, tour operators and wholesalers in the wider visitor economy.
In cruising it was a big week for environmental announcements, probably timed to coincide with last Friday’s Earth Day which also saw CATO host a commemorative event in Brisbane. Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings both released major reports showcasing their progress towards sustainability goals; while also in cruise we saw P&O Australia introduce the opportunity for guests to bid for upgrades on local voyages, the release of the 2024/25 Ambassador Cruises program and the float-out of Scenic Group’s new Emerald Sakara.
There was lots more too – Rex Airlines announced a bunch of service cuts due to the industry’s well-documented workforce shortages; Western Sydney International Airport revealed plans for an extensive commercial precinct including hotels, event spaces and more as well as a new partnership with Amadeus; Solomon Airlines and Vietjet appointed new GSAs; and former Sabre chief Martin Cowley became a board member of Mint Payments.
But I’d better leave it there to gather breath for the coming week in which I expect an absolute tsunami of news – because there’s just so much going on. Tomorrow Jenny and I fly to Italy where we will be lucky enough to experience the inaugural voyage of Oceania Vista in about a week’s time, while some of our team will also be at Australian Tourism Exchange on the Gold Coast from Sunday – and then later in the week head to Fiji for this year’s Fiji Tourism Exchange.
I’ll just wrap it up by once again congratulating Justine Sealey and the team from Ramsgate Travel who are celebrating their 40th year in business. This small suburban agency in Sydney’s south has always punched way above its weight, and the turnout from suppliers at a celebratory luncheon that we were honoured to attend was testament to what the travel industry is all about.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Bruce
