Skift Take
Although it's uncertain when large numbers of visitors from the United States and European Union will come back due to concerns about Covid variants, struggling U.K. tour operators need to take steps to ensure they're in a position to take advantage of the large-scale return of travelers.
When U.K.-based inbound tour operators Cashel Travel and Tiernan Travel announced last month that they had merged, the transaction signified more than another deal between two entities in the travel industry. It also was a sign of the steps that tour operators are taking to stay afloat.
The Cashel-Tiernan merger is not the only recent one involving tour operators in the United Kingdom. Several travel industry executives believe it may not be the last as difficulties brought about by the pandemic have put several tour operators in precarious situations that could result in more merger and acquisition deals.
Indeed, independent tour operator Prestige Holidays was purchased by Embrace Travel Group earlier this summer, which may be one of several moves the latter company makes in the near future.
"(It's) doubtless there are negotiations going on being the scenes that we won't hear about for some time," said Sue Ockwell, who serves as the managing director of Travel PR, a firm that represents numerous tour operators inside and outside the U.K., and a spokesperson for the U.K.-based Association of Independent Tour Operators.
It's also possible that some future mergers will feature U.K. tour operators consolidating with companies outside of the country. One such recent transaction has already taken place as TravelLoc
