Why so many travel firms going bust?

GDB2222

Pennywise wrote: »

people seem to be saving rather than spending "just in case"

Do you really mean saving, or just not borrowing as much?

ILW

michaels wrote: »

Whilst I agree that Stella isn't a necessity I would be hard pressed to describe it as luxury...

It is if you are not earning the money to pay for it.

GDB2222

ILW wrote: »

It is if you are not earning the money to pay for it.

Stella seems to me to be more of a penance than a luxury. I think that was michaels' point.

Thrugelmir

chucky wrote: »

wrong reason... see here >>>>>>>>

Depends where you travel to. I agree French large towns and cities are expensive for example. But if you travel further afield to more rural parts such as French / Spainish Pyrennes. Its still relative cheap compared to the UK for accomodation and food. Aldi and Lidl are as cheap there as here as well.

Cleaver

movilogo wrote: »

Any idea? With economy improving they would have been growing instead!

Aren't they all organisations that provide old school package holidays? Half the fun for the younger generation, in my opinion, is getting online and booking all the stuff yourself. Comparing flights, looking at hotel review sites, researching areas on Google maps... I know that's the case for me.

Booking a holiday is now very easy, quite a lot of fun and something people now want to do themselves. So whenever I see one of these package places going bust I'm never that surprised. Especially as they can't really be any cheaper than a DIY holiday booked through the net.

Just out of interest and on a related note, has anyone under 30 ever booked a holiday in a travel agents? Don't think I've ever even been in one.

neverdespairgirl

Cleaver wrote: »

Just out of interest and on a related note, has anyone under 30 ever booked a holiday in a travel agents? Don't think I've ever even been in one.

2 years over your age limit, but I've not booked through a TA, nor ever been in one (that I remember).

SingleSue

GDB2222 wrote: »

I can see why people go away for winter sun, but summer in the UK is delightful. Okay, the weather can be a bit iffy in the UK, but you're likely to get a good few really nice days at this time of year and unlikely to come back with a melanoma. The countryside here is wonderful. Plus, you pile into the car and are at your destination in the time you'd still be queueing at the airport for your package deal.

By the way, please don't go to North Norfolk. I love it that I can wander along a 3 mile beach in the sunshine with nobody else in sight.

Should try deepest south Suffolk.....it's been the same story for the last week because of the unpredictable weather!

Lovely for us residents though, we can actually go for a drive and still be able to park outside our houses when we get back.

Procrastinator333

Pennywise wrote: »

The UK:Euro exchange rate has made Europe VERY expensive and so has put people off travelling from the UK to Spain, etc. Time and time again, I've heard people complaining about costs of meals etc - it's now equivalent or more expensive to eat in the Med than in the UK - not that long ago, Med dining was a fraction of the cost in the UK. Same with everything else- souvenirs, groceries, clothing etc.

The ashcloud did a massive amount of damage - not just in terms of lost profits and compo for cancelled holidays, but also put people off booking in case it came back again.

Strike threats haven't helped either, nor has the ridiculously intrusive and illogical security requirements causing delays and inconvenience, plus hidden extra costs of the so-called cheap airlines, etc etc. Foreign travel isn't a pleasure anymore - it's now a real PITA and I think people are getting fed up of it.

I think fear of recession and job losses is causing more damage than reality - people seem to be saving rather than spending "just in case", which of course makes the recession worse and double-dip recession more likely.

At the end of the day, foreign travel used to be more popular because it was artificially cheap meaning it was cheaper to go abroad than stay in the UK and meaning that foreign travel was affordable to virtually everyone, even the poor and low earners. Artificially low prices are never sustainable. We had a good couple of decades of foreign holidays for all, but I think those days have now ended.

This lot combined with the old adage - "cash is king". These holiday companies have faced a squeeze in both directions. Less cash coming in because of the above and once the first company goes and suppliers get stung, they start to demand cash up front.

If you were an airline that delt with these sort of companies, 12 months ago you may have given them credit and let them pay after the flights. Once the first one went, I think a lot of suppliers would cut their risk by cutting credit to such companies.

So less coming in at a time when cash requirements are going up. Result = can't pay the bills = game over

There may well have been a profitable business underneath, but cash is king and not enough cash only ends in one way.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

2 years over your age limit, but I've not booked through a TA, nor ever been in one (that I remember).

I went into one to book a complicated multi city flight with flexible dates as I was finding it surprisingly hard to get comparable options while searching online. I knew they would have the software to pull up possible routes much more quickly, so was happy to pay for this service.

Being an unrepentant grammar nazi, I never buy from companies with !!!!!! txtspk names which sound like they were part of an NVQ Business Studies project. Sun4U indeed.

iB1

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

2 years over your age limit, but I've not booked through a TA, nor ever been in one (that I remember).

Same age as you, and only been inside a TA once - That was my first "lads" holiday waaaay back in 2001! Everything has been done online since then - either using the TA's online website or "rolling my own"