Travel businesses told to ‘shape their future before it shapes them’
Ilaria Grasso MacolaSpecialist travel businesses should actively work to “shape” their future instead of having it shape them.
Former Hoseasons boss Richard Carrick has told delegates attending Aito’s annual conference to consider how socio-political, economic and environmental changes can affect their businesses and do their best to anticipate them.
“Forecast with some caution and always consider the change that’s likely to affect your business and how you should anticipate it,” he said.
It comes as Travel Trade Consultancy (TTC) director Martin Alcock has warned attendees that national and international events – such as the UK and US elections as well as the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine – can have an impact on the British economy and therefore on the travel and tourism industry.
According to Carrick, travel businesses cannot rely solely on optimism, needing instead to be realistic when it comes to the state of their company and the wider industry.
They also need to “spend some serious time” developing a business roadmap with the help of brought-in experts.
“Ask for help where it’s available and also make sure the chemistry is right,” he said during the conference in Thessaloniki.
Carrick has also called on Aito members to work on their succession plans instead of putting them off while continuing offering an excellent service to customers.
“Succession planning is massively important and I think it gets forgotten or actively brushed under the carpet,” he said.
Talking about technology, Carrick has urged agents and tour operators alike not to fear the likes of AI, reminding them they are in control of what form of machine learning they embrace and to what extent.
“At this point in time you are at least in control as to what form of AI you embrace and what technology you use,” he added.
Nevertheless, Carrick has remained confident about the future of specialist travel as post-pandemic, the demand for expert knowledge and curated experience has boomed.
“There is still a very strong consumer inclination to travel,” he concluded. “I think we’re still seeing quite a lot of that."
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