What does 2011 mean to the Golden Age of Travel?

The beginning of a new year inevitably comes with predictions on how individual industries and the overall economy are going to fare in the year ahead.  If there’s one thing we learnt in the world of travel in 2010 – it’s that we can’t predict much.

It’s only February and the political situation in Egypt has already proven this, although I believe that Cairo’s place in history will soon have new meaning, and when there is a resolve, Egypt will be back stronger than before.

However word on the street is we’re experiencing a double-dip recession, which could surely see us with hands firmly in Primark pockets, refusing to let go of our hand-earned cash.

Not exactly. When it comes to travel the experts are still saying we won’t forgo our holidays. Rightly so – but are they right?

According to Taleb Rifai, Secretary General for UNWTO, 2011 is going to be a difficult but exciting year.  UK outbound figures have dropped as people took less holidays abroad last year and UKTS figures support the fact the ‘staycation’ was no myth. Bourne Leisure has indicated the domestic market is looking positive for 2011, with bookings better than last year.

Yet Christian Cull, communications director at TUI says research shows people are taking more holidays overseas. His optimism is backed-up by the uplift in holidays over the magical ‘three-day royal wedding holiday’ bonanza, Kenya increasing in popularity and most importantly by forward bookings – but is it just green shoots for the big boys?

Advantage has also seen good start to year with sales up 10%.  Sunvil is up 5% and indications are good, although MD Noel Josephides admits it’s a tough and competitive market. 54% of AITO members said they’d taken more bookings than at the same time last year. And PriceWaterhouseCoopers research tells us business travel is on the up again.

But there are still some tough issues facing the industry – the rising cost of fuel, tax and APD, currency fluctuation, insurance and customer protection are all hot topics.  Unemployment is a concern, as is the environment, which although off the radar for the past two years, is still of massive importance if we’re to continue travelling at this pace.

So it’s certainly not all picket fences.  But judging by the statistics to hand, my travel habits and those of the people around me, we will still get away this year be it here or abroad.  We’ll just remain as value-conscious as the recession has taught us to be.

Taleb Rifai also suggested one day this era could be looked back upon as the Age of Travel, akin to the Industrial Age.  So let’s enjoy it as responsibly as we can.