Travel Firm Failures Continue

"Drastic action can save struggling travel firms" was a headline in this week's Travel Industry press. The report was based on some research carried out by Plimsoll Publishing that out of the 1000 top travel firms, 213 are at high risk of failure. It continued with some actions those companies should be thinking of taking to avoid failure.

Travel firms continue to fail. Just last month, three firms failed in February 2009 leaving over 5000 travellers either without a holiday or stranded abroad.

The average traveller can be forgiven for letting the pain and anguish of a failure fade into distant memeory, but particulary for those who lost either their holidays or money - or in some cases both - the memory remains strong and somewhat painful.

Amro Worldwide holds ATOL5826 which fully protects any flight included holiday package which we sell. Unlike some companies, our ATOL is a real ATOL - it can be checked on the CAA website. It's not just a logo used to entice your booking and give confidence but provides real protection. So when buying your next holiday, do check that the ATOL protection information you are told about really does exist.

European Symposium on Gay & Lesbian Tourism

A bit of a mouthful for what was a very succesful day yesterday spent looking at gay tourism and how it is developing. I was delighted to be asked to make a presentation on how Amro Worldwide works with destinations and suppliers, as a summing up on much of the morning and early afternoon's discussions and presentations.

Our "So Gay" campaign on the London Underground during last summer's London Pride certainly hit the headlines then and it continues to rumble on especially when Adweek.com suggested it was the most talked about travel industry ad of 2008. The "legs" of the campaign certainly gave superb publicity to our partners of Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Washington DC and as of last week two posters were still displaying - that's seven months after the campaign officially closed.

So, some great opportunites and unique ideas for destinations and suppliers to work with Amro Worldwide to maximise opportunities.

Some 2009 Predictions...

It's been interesting reading the papers over the past week with all their predictions for 2009 so I thought I'd record here my thoughts on travel and gay travel in particular for 2009.

Firstly, I think the currencies have been over done and we will see the pound recover against the Euro and US Dollar. This has already started to happen with the Euro showing clear ground over parity. I predict we'll see the 1.20 Euro and the 1.50 USD by Easter - not quite what we have been used to but enough to tempt travellers back to these destinations. All our prices are based on these rates of exchange so why not go ahead and book your holiday now whilst there is good choice and prices are competitive?

I don't think we will see a repeat of airlines such as Silverjet, Zoom, Nationwide and XL failing this year as the price of oil has fallen substantially. But I do think a number of niche holiday companies, including possibly some gay specialists, might be in trouble as booking volumes fall as a result of the economic downturn. This means understanding the Financial Protection included with the holiday and checking that it really is as good as the sales team promote, is absolutley vital. For Amro Worldwide that's easy. We hold ATOL 5826 which ensures full protection for your holiday and re-patriation if the airline goes out of business.

As for destinations, the swing to European destinations will continue but I predict that our gay resort at Dalyan in Turkey will be very popular, offering superb value for being outside the Eurozone. For those venturing to Spain, Gran Canaria will remain a top destination but the greater variety and lower price of flights to Barcelona and Malaga will make Sitges and the Costa del Sol resorts of Torremolinos and Malaga more popular than in the past. I suspect that short weekend city breaks will be less popular and the ability to book other than 7 or 14 night holidays through Amro Worldwide will mean more 8 or 9 night holidays to maximise holiday leave and value.

Gay cruises will continue to grow in popularity but I doubt this is the year for the increasing range of gay adventure holidays that we are offering simply due to economic circumstances. One Off celebration holidays such as honeymoons will continue to grow with evermore exotic destinations starting to feature - we've already sold a China, Vietnam and Cambodia trip.

Now for prices. Whilst there will always be bargains to be found and we have plenty on our website, the overall trend in 2009 will be for prices to rise simply as a result of capacity reductions across the entire industry. All holiday companies are keen to get the bookings in now so they know where they stand, so now is the time to search the deals and get booking. Late deals will still be there but the days of last minute distress pricing sales is gone and they will almost certainly be more costly as the year passes by.

So, Happy Travelling to you all in 2009.

Up to 70% OFF!!

We’ve all read that Woolies are closing down and had a wonderful 50% Off sale which was much publicised. Woolies were great for CD’s and other small gifts so off I went into town to buy stocking fillers. Sadly very little was actually discounted by more than 15 -20% and there wasn’t even this off many of the CD’s. I left feeling disappointed and somewhat misled.

This week I fancied a new winter coat as it has been so cold and wandered into a High Street chain offering upto 70% off. Sure discounts on last summer's styles but on what I really needed it was full price. I left empty handed and feeling not only misled but a little cheated.

Sadly this habit is creeping into travel. As Amro Worldwide offers a price match guarantee, we regularly mystery shop amongst other holiday companies not only the gay specialists but all the big names. Whilst we all know to look for the little word “from” when we see an apparent holiday bargain, sadly, this week our mystery shoppers have been finding that headline prices are not just “from”, they are simply not available - not even on any date. Explanations have ranged from that must have sold out (even on the day the advert appeared!) to that must have been an error and it isn’t in our database.

To me, this isn’t just misleading or cheating, it’s plain dishonest trading!

So rest assured, the price you see on the www.amroworldwide.com is the price you pay. The only extra is if you pay be credit card rather than debit card. And if you book a flight, we know you want to take all your outfits with you so there is no extra to pay to take a suitcase with you – it’s all included in the price.

So shop around, you’ll find Amro Worldwide prices to be honest and fair plus you get the full ATOL Financial Protection for your holiday at no extra cost.

Gay Cruising

A Christmas Greetings arrived this week from Atlantis Events - it was a timely reminder of just how popular cruises have become for gay men and women. Atlantis now owns RSVP and between them have a dozen cruises for 2009. There's still space available on the Freedom Caribbean cruise on 25 January - the most popular gay cruise of them all (so they claim) with prices from £999 per person including all taxes and tips.


But it's not just about the huge mega cruise ships. There are plenty of groups which take over just a small number of cabins, special interest cruises for full moon lovers or try sailing the Greek Islands aboard a real sailing ship. That's right many cruises are now starting in Europe with a few even from our own shores plus there are all-women cruises from Olivia. And contrary to popular belief it's not all speedo-clad muscle hunks, the age range and diversity is wide with something for everyone.






It's easy to see why cruising is so popular - all the fun, accommodation, meals and entertainment are included in one price With our worldwide knowledge, we can get you to the departure port and return you home with minimal hassle and for the lowest possible cost.

Where are Prices Heading for 2009

Earlier this week, I was reading the Travel Trade Press and an article on prices written by Amanda Willis, the MD of Virgin Holidays, caught my eye. Of course, the bigger companies are always talking up the price of holidays but this was a lot more sanguine.

We're all aware that the pound has fallen in value over the past few months and as I write, has dropped another 2% against the Euro and 3% against the US dollar. What we often don't appreciate is that this means that the average apartment rental in Gran Canaria has gone up by over £50 for a week in the past year.

But she explained, property owners have largely fixed overheads, If they think they will sell less rooms, then the price per room has to rise to cover these costs.

Finally, she went on, there are also huge flight capacity reductions. Popular gay destinations, such as Mykonos and Gran Canaria were well served by XL and its capacity is not being replaced. On the long haul sectors across the Atlantic and to South Africa and Australia, we're already finding the number of flights reduced often to less than daily. With less competition and choice, prices are slowly but steadily creeping up.

Reflecting on this, the key to me is the flight capacity. If seats are sold out early there will be none that are available for late bookers whatever price they are prepared to pay. And with the economy in such a mess, that price is not very much.

I have just been updating our offers for our Newsletter and was quite horrified to see how much supplier prices have risen in the last month. A US week up over a £100 and even Gran Canaria up around £60.

So where does this leave us all ?

There is no doubt that those who book early are the winners. We have a lot of clients travelling long haul this Christmas. They paid at a USD rate of 1.85 to 1.95, today's rate is 1.40. They've saved literally £100's by booking early. Even our Christmas clients to Gran Canaria are saving over £70 on their week by booking as recently as October.

The moral is clear - don't leave it too late to book. My prediction for 2009 is that prices will continue to rise and reduced capacity will mean that late cheapies will be few and far between. Book early for the best deals in 2009.

Los Almendros is Back !

We're really delighted to announce that the gay resort of Los Almendros in Gran Canaria is now back and on sale for bookings made either online at http://www.amroworldwide.com/ or through our call-centre on 01462 434663.

This popular gay owned and managed resort, formerly known as Respect Los Almendros, went straight for the winter but is re-opening as an exclusively all-male resort on Wednesday 29 April - that's just in time for Maspalomas Pride week.

As a welcome back gift, just book Los Almendros online before 30 November 2008 and enter promotional code GRAN. We'll then knock £25 off any booking over £500 as you make payment.

And remember, no longer are you locked into 7 night stays. With our daily flights, you can now enjoy a long weekend or mid-week break at a great price too.