Almost a week after travel firm, Sun4U, collapsed leaving hundreds of holidaymakers stranded abroad, industry experts have warned more tour operators may follow suit, resulting in more travel job losses.

Sun4U announced it was bankrupt last Wednesday leaving more than 1,000 holidaymakers stuck in Spain – some having to pay out more cash for their accommodation.

The travel company had been operating for just six years and had a total of 92 employees.

Chris Gray, from the Trade Travel Gazette, said the travel industry had suffered from the lack of bookings made for this summer and the general downturn in trade over the past two years. “There has been a significant reduction in the number of holidays booked abroad this year.

“Companies tend to fail after the summer towards the autumn but there have already been two bankruptcies during this years’ peak holiday time. The fear in the industry is that there is more to come.”

This could spell significant travel jobs uncertainty within the travel industry.

The collapse of Sun4U came less than a month after Surrey-based Goldtrail Travel called in the administrators and nine months after the demise of Scottish package-holiday provider and airline Globespan. In 2007, XL, who also had a fleet of airlines, declared it was bankrupt.

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Camping-to-school-trips firm Holidaybreak has posted some good news for the travel industry, giving some temporary respite to what has been a gloomy week for the travel sector. The company has revealed healthy figures in line with expectations for the key summer months.

The group has revealed it has been encouraged by the continued resilience of its business model, which also includes the sale of adventure holidays and weekend theatre breaks.

The company’s good news comes after dire warnings from TUI and Thomas Cook about economic conditions in the sector.

Holidaybreak has revealed its camping sales division has posted similar figures to last year, whilst its PGL centres made a profit of 8 per cent. Short break hotel sales have suffered a little, dropping 4 per cent, although the company have revealed sales have picked up in recent weeks.

Bob Baddeley, finance director for Holidaybreak, says of the figures:

“We tend to do well when there are big shows on in London. It’s been a difficult market for a while with the consumer against discretionary spending.”

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The looming threat of Tube strike causing widespread travel chaos has risen after members of the RMT transport union decided to vote in favour of industrial action.

Of the workings participating in the ballot, 76 per cent voted in favour of strikes while 88 per cent voted for similar action short of striking. The RMT will now engage in negotiations with the TSSA, its sister transport union, prior to the TSSA balloting its workers next week.

Both unions have been threatening industrial action since the news that 800 jobs could be lost when the government scraps 140 ticket offices on the London Underground. Bob Crow, general secretary for RMT, said that it was less than two weeks since the Potters Bar rail crash that the government had revealed plans to cut back on maintenance workers, staffing and inspection crews. He added that LU management clearly had not learned from the crash that frequent inspections and more staff help avoid loss of life.

RMT members, Mr Crow added, are sending a clear message with the latest ballot, that strike action will be taken if the Tube is left unstaffed turning it into a ‘death trap’. Mr Crow also stated that London Mayor Boris Johnson needed to pay attention to the looming threat as the LU unfolds on ‘his watch’.

RMT workers have grown increasingly fearful of spending cuts and job losses since the new coalition government announced massive budget cuts across the public sector. The government has also been encouraging commuters to take advantage of public transport in order to cut down on the UK’s carbon footprint and motor vehicle use.

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New research suggests Guernsey is the most popular location in Great Britain for cruise ship visits.

The island’s government has carried out a study which suggests the island is an extremely popular choice with cruise ship operators for day trips.

However, Peter Valla, from VisitGuernsey, believes the island can still ‘do better’.

More than 60 cruise ships dock off Guernsey during the course of a year.

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Luxury cruises and river cruises are rapidly growing in popularity according to a new survey.

The survey suggested that luxury customers were most interested in onboard services, with 94 percent saying the service was similar or better than that at a leading destination on land and 75 percent saying that cruises stacked up positively against the best restaurants in the world.

The CLIA says that the growth of river and luxury cruises is being driven by a change in the type of people that are choosing to cruise – cruise lines have reported a drop in the average age of guests, in one case a fall in the median passenger age from 60 to 45 in the last ten years.

With new ships from Disney and the recent unveiling of single-passenger cabins and an ice bar on board the Norwegian Epic, it seems that cruise lines are proving successful in their quest to expand the popularity of a cruise holiday beyond the traditional market of retired vacationer.

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More good news for anyone searching for UK travel jobs- UK cottage holiday firm Cottages4you has reported a 5.4 per cent upturn in business.

The operator, run by Wyndham Exchange and Rentals, has revealed the year today has been mixed – with regular Janaury hitting sales before a surge in sales in February, up 42 per cent on the previous year.

The Ash cloud that hampered international flights in March proved beneficial to Cottages4you as holidaymakers booked breaks closer to home – with sales increasing by 39 per cent year on year during the period.

Geoff Cowley, managing director of the firm, had the following to say about the results:

The figures indicate that the trend for UK holidays is clearly here to stay and we are delighted with the performance to date.

“2010 booking patterns have been impacted by external factors over which the industry has no influence.

“The snow, World Cup and even the election have affected booking patterns for all holidays, but overseas packages are suffering more.”

He continued, “The UK product has changed dramatically in recent years with gastro pubs and restaurants, new attractions and higher quality accommodation offering the UK holidaymakers much more.

“There’s so much more involved in the decision making than just price. The mainstream overseas package holidays simply aren’t as appealing as they once seemed to our parents’ generation.

“This is definitely a wakeup call to travel operators and it will be interesting to see how companies adapt.”

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Hundreds of British tourists have been left stranded abroad following the latest collapse of a holiday firm – this time Birmingham-based company Sun4U.

About 1200 holidaymakers are believed to be on a Sun4U holiday at present, the majority of whom are based in Spain.

A number of factors are believed to have led to the firm’s collapse – primarily the ash cloud crisis and ’sustained poor trading’ over the last couple of months.

The company has left the following message on its website:

“Sun4u Limited has ceased trading. For further information please contact the Association of British Travel Agents’ claim handlers CEGA on 01243 621 500.”

The collapse of Sun4U follows the failure of Goldtrail last month, which entered administration with 16,000 customers overseas.

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Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) says the £650m relaunch of its flagship Holiday Inn brand helped boost profit by 22% in the first half of the year.

The hotelier, which also owns the InterContinental and Crowne Plaza brands, registered operating profit of $219m (£138m) in the six months to 30 June, up from $179m (£113m) in the same period last year.

Revenue rose to $772m (£488m), up 6% on last year’s $726m (£459m).

The company plans to refresh 3,300 Holiday Inn hotels worldwide. It says work remains “on-track” with 2,585 hotels now operating under new standards.

IHG aims to give the brand a more contemporary image.

The hotel group, which makes the bulk of its revenue from the mid-market brand, launched a £65m global campaign to support the reluanch in April.

The campaign aimed to highlight the refresh, service and comfort on offer.

Andrew Cosslett, chief executive of IHG, says its emphasis on reducing costs and building its brands has “put us in great shape to increase share in what is now a rising market”.

The company is also planning a relaunch of its boutique brand Hotel Indigoahead of 10 international openings planned for this year.

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David Cameron has announced his intention to help make Britain one of the top five tourist destinations in the world.

The Prime Minister believes the income generated by the tourism sector – which currently stands at £115 billion a year – is fundamental in helping the UK recover from the global recession.

Mr Cameron attacked Labour’s attitude towards the travel sector while it was in government in a speech at the Serpentine Gallery in London, whilst pointing our the fact UK tourism has a fantastic chance to capitalise on the forthcoming decade of sport, the highlight of which will be the 2012 Olympics in London:

“For too long tourism has been looked down on as a second class service sector. That’s just wrong,” he said.

“Tourism is a fiercely competitive market, requiring skills, talent, enterprise and a government that backs Britain. It’s fundamental to the rebuilding and rebalancing of our economy.

“It’s one of the best and fastest ways of generating the jobs we need so badly in this country. And it’s absolutely crucial to us making the most of the Olympics and indeed a whole decade of great international sport across Britain.”

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A cruise industry expert believes Scotland is failing to fulfil its potential as a major cruising destination.

Carolyn Spencer Brown from website Cruisecritic.com believes a ’shocking’ lack of marketing and inadequate city docks are to be blamed for the country’s below par performance as a cruise destination.

Ms Spencer Brown believes Scotland has the potential to be the third most popular European cruise destination after the Mediterranean and the Baltics, but as a result of oversights, the country remains ‘way down the list’.

The expert has pointed to a failure of marketing campaigns and a lack of promotion, as well as the lack of berths available to larger cruise ships around the coast of Scotland.

Speaking at a conference in South Queensferry, Ms Spencer Brown has urged a rethink by the Scottish tourism industry in relation to the cruise sector:

“None of the ports in Scotland are as motivated as they could be in marketing and infrastructure. I find it shocking it is not organised more than it is. Last year’s Homecoming Scotland could have been a fantastic cruise story.

“Edinburgh is very popular, but it could be so much more popular. That Scotland is growing as quickly as it is without the infrastructure shows its appeal.”

She finished, “Scotland has so much to offer. I do not understand why it is not the number three destination in Europe – not behind other areas such as the Norwegian fjords and river cruises.”

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