AFTER TURNING IN an impressive set of figures for the third quarter of last year, the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC) has warned that the final three months of 2008 could be disappointing. Having reported significant increases in air, rail and hotel bookings for Q3/08, guild chief executive Philip Carlisle admitted: "Reports from members indicate that there are signs that the fourth quarter will be more challenging." In Q3/08, GTMC members saw an eight per cent increase in transactions overall.
Compared with Q3/07, air transactions were up 14 per cent, hotel bookings were up 18 per cent, and rail transactions were 16 per cent higher. Car rental and ancillary service bookings were both down by three per cent.
For the first nine months of the year, air transactions were two per cent higher than in January-September 2007, but hotel and rail bookings improved by 24 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.
Carlisle's initial reaction to the "remarkable" results was understandably bullish. "Clearly," he said, "British business still sees business travel as a vital aspect of trading during a downturn."
His euphoria was short-lived however, with members reporting a downturn in the final quarter of the year.