One trend was a big fall in what we call 'non-essential' holidays

AFTER THE BOOM:CLEM WALSHE, head of marketing at Budget Travel said the firm started to reduce its capacity before Christmas. Since then, he says, Irish tour operators have cut their collective capacity from 900,000 to about 550,000 seats.

“One trend that became very obvious over the first quarter was a big drop-off in what we call “non-essential” holidays – city breaks in Europe, New York shopping trips and so on. The core family holiday to short-haul European destinations, however, remains relatively sacrosanct with the new cool in holidays being ‘thrift’.”

There is also evidence, according to Walshe, that people are delaying holiday decisions in the hope of getting cheap last-minute deals. Budget’s response has been to introduce incentives for early-bookers, which Walshe hopes will appeal to the “core family holiday market”.

“The other thing which was very clear to us was that we also had to cut back on costs,” says Walshe. The firm has renegotiated most of its airline and accommodation contracts.

Payroll costs have also been cut, and a three-day week introduced for retail counter staff. “We wanted to protect our employees’ jobs while still having the option to retain their services when business improves,” he says.

“We spoke directly to staff. They understood and appreciated the situation and were very positive about the actions we proposed. As to how long the three-day week lasts is a matter of constant review but I’m glad to say we have not incurred any staff losses as a result.”

In this series, business people describe how they and their organisations are adjusting to life after the boom.

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