Leisure, Travel & Tourism

Travel companies face the perfect storm

A combination of a the credit crunch and a weak pound against the euro is leading many in the travel industry to predict a summer of business collapses amongst tour operators.

Holiday giant ventures into the luxury segment

Now that there are just two dominant mainstream package tour operators in the UK, the search for profitable growth is taking businesses like Thomas Cook into more specialist segments.  It has just bought one of the most exclusive luxury operators as part of a renewed acquisition strategy.

Can Willie Walsh save his job?

According to Jeff Randall, the Telegraph’s influential business columnist, the CEO of British Airways has just a week or two to sort out the Terminal 5 mess, or he will be looking for his next job.  Randall has just conducted a fantastic interview with Willie Walsh on Sky News that challenges the CEO on his performance.

Are cruise holidays part of responsible tourism?

Are cruise liners the bad boys of travel? I guess I hadn’t thought about this issue before now, but I have come across a thought-provoking article on the issue.

Low cost airline growth?  Its all an act…

Occasionally you come across a story that leaves you scratching your head wondering just what the heck is going on…

Terminal 5 - a useful 2 minute video clip for your students

Here is a useful, short video clip from Reuters that covers the operational problems that occured on the opening day of Terminal 5.

The Business Studies Lessons from Terminal 5

Rarely can there have been a business news story that provides such a rich source of business studies content.

OCR Applied Business Unit 9 - Ericas Eco Tours

We’re putting together our teacher and student revision toolkit for the OCR Applied Business Unit 9 case study. For June 2008, the case study is on specialist tour operating, a market that is brings the memories flooding back for me.

New owners for Pontins try to defy the product life cycle

Pontins, the UK holiday park business which was born in post-war Britain and thrived during the 1950’s and 1960’s, has just been bought for £46m by new investors.  Can they turn reverse the decline in the traditional holiday park market?

Consolidation speculation in the budget hotel market

The budget hotel market in the UK has enjoyed stronger than average growth in the last decade. A small number of operators have steadily built their market share, and now there is media speculation that the two largest competitors will soon merge.

British Airways warning is a wonderful strategy case for students

An amazing headline in the Independent this morning.  “BA fears oil price rise may destroy its profit margins”.  The piece that follows makes for really useful reading for A2 business strategy students.

Supporters count the cost of following a Premiership footie club

How much would you spend to be a loyal supporter of Premiership football club? New research highlights just how much it all costs.