Top UK Tour Operator Tells Prime Minister to Shake Up Antiquated School Holiday System
(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - May 23rd, 2014 - Harriet Green, winner of the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year accolade and Thomas Cook chief executive, has made it quite clear to David Cameron that it is the education system that is to blame for inflated travel prices during school holidays. Cameron recently accused the travel industry of “deliberately” increasing their prices during school holiday periods. He suggested that schools should stagger their holiday times so there won’t be such high demand in any one period for holiday deals.
Green told Cameron it was time to make changes in what she called an “antiquated” school term system. It is her belief that schools should have three equal holidays to better spread the demand for flights during vacation times. Currently prices in August increase dramatically due to the high volume of demand from both schools and offices alike.
In office environments the same situation arises, with everyone trying to secure time off for the same time of year every year. Families who decide to take time outside of these main seasons, are fined for taking their children out of school during the school term. Green says that this practice is “slightly judicious administration” and that for her it “doesn’t feel right”.
Nick Lima from A1 travel says “often our customers think that it is us who puts up the prices during the school holidays, when in fact as an independent agency our prices are dictated by the big tour operators that have flight allocations, whether we sell a holiday in low season or the height of summer our margin remains the same”.
Green received a role on the Prime Minister’s business advisory council and it was from here that she raised the issue with Cameron. During her interview with the Times on Saturday, the business woman also discussed a broad range of topics, including the future for travel agents and her own personal character.
She herself as “a landa”, a seemingly self-coined phrase which she felt outlines her character as a cross between a panda and a lion. She maintains that she can be both aggressive like a lion and gentle like a panda, depending on what a situation may require of her. “Sometimes I am a real lion, I can roar, make things happen, I can change the course through will, energy and just being incredibly aggressive and assertive. But I can also be a big panda. If a company is sick, you have to be gentler – big eyes, big hugs.”
This powerful minded, assertive business woman, with a family of her own will certainly be pushing this issue with the prime minister in the weeks to come and she may well be the right person for the job. According to Harriet Green, “the school year is very antiquated and based on outdated ideas that the children need to help to bring in the harvest”. If her objectives are met, then it’s possible the U.K could see a reform of school holiday terms in the future.
About the company
A1 Travel is an independent travel agency based in Essex. They offer a range of family orientated package holidays to destinations such as Spain, Greece, Turkey and Egypt, the full selection of which can be found at www.a1travel.com.
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