Will 2022 Be Better Then 2021

[Andrewcook]

As we are drawing to a Close for this Year Two Thousand Twenty One will Two Thousand Twenty Two will it be any better? Weather wise? COVID 19 being more stable ? Will the Boating and Tourist Industry stay the same as 2021? I truly hope we all have better Year? 

[ExSurveyor]

Andrew, I will let you know in 12 months .

If the last 20 months have taught us anything it is to prepare for the unexpected.

[FairTmiddlin]

As long as there are plenty of the letters of the Greek alphabet still left to use.

Maybe.

[DAVIDH]

15 hours ago, Andrewcook said:

Will the Boating and Tourist Industry stay the same as 2021?

The odds are certainly tipping back that way, but as others have said, the only thing you can rely on is that nothing is reliable. 

[TheQ]

There might be enough letters, if,  they don't go skipping any more to appease Chinese Presidents..

The boating and tourist industry in the UK have had a boom year, they'd love it to continue as 2021, what they don't want is another 2020...

I expect the tourists to slowly go back to holidays on Costa del booze, though it will probably be 2024 or 2025 before tourist levels return to normal.

[DAVIDH]

2 minutes ago, TheQ said:

The boating and tourist industry in the UK have had a boom year, they'd love it to continue as 2021, what they don't want is another 2020...

Ooh, that's interesting. Even though 2020 didn't open up officially until July, it was still a bumper year. For me, 2020 and 2021 have been on a par. Many pre-July bookings were transferred to 2021, so the bit they lost at the start of 2020, was kept in the bank. Having had the money once, they couldn't take it again in 2021. And of course, both years sold out, though I guess at higher prices in 2021. 

[Oddfellow]

Last year, as I was winding down Freedom, a good friend with a very keen interest in the boat yard industry asked me when I thought some normality would return. I told him that I didn't expect anything to get back to "normal" until at least 2023. 

As we approach 2022, having seen infection numbers grow over the last month or two and with a new variant beginning to grow also, I wonder whether my estimate was conservative. The difficulty in predictions is not necessarily how Covid will continue to affect us, it's how measures designed to "protect" us are introduced and enforced. The latest mask-wearing instruction has met with considerable resistance from people who are all experts on the law, experts on the efficacy of masks but above all are selfish *&%cks. But it shows the weariness of people who are no longer prepared to endure very minor inconveniences for the good of everybody. We're seeing resistance in other countries too, but our problem is mired by mixed messages, "do as I say but not as I do" instructions and such and protection measures only work if we are all prepared to protect each other. My point being that the future is incredibly uncertain as society is increasingly unwilling to help society which will allow further transmission, further mutation and, very likely, a lengthening of the pandemic. 

The only way out of this is medication and that's another can of worms that the Government has opened and tipped out with fast-tracking of licences without proper testing and so on which is either a result of blind panic or making money. Very probably both. 

What this means for the Broads is as uncertain as ever. Yards have adapted to cancellations and should have nailed that one well into their new business practices but we also know that unscrupulous customers tried cancelling their boating holidays in favour for fun in the sun the moment they were allowed to travel again. We KNOW that international travel relaxation will have an impact on domestic holidays of all kinds and we also know that international travel restrictions has considerable impact on the holiday industry as a whole. 

What we don't know is how the new variant will impact our health, restrictions and laws in the future. We know it will and we know that other variants are equally likely. Until this virus is severely restricted in it's transmission, it will remain a big problem and one that will be hard to plan for, 

 

[andyg]

Between TUI JET2 RYAN AIR EASYJET and BA  there were 75 flights today from the UK and NI to the canaries islands  it was a similar number on Saturday. There most definitely a pent up demand for overseas travel, but I can see the latest restrictions damping the mood. It's to early to predict what impact this latest variant will have, but I think 2022 will be another bumper year for UK holiday providers. Let's face it Andrew it can't get any busier then it was the last two seasons in terms of hire craft. On pure numbers of boats available to hie there actually will be a drop in numbers of hire craft overall. Richardsons are selling a fair few boat, barnes have a few up for sale, silverline have sold a couple etc. 

[DAVIDH]

I think the addition of testing to return to the UK will have a profound effect on forward overseas bookings - if it stays. It COULD BE that in three weeks time, enough has been learned about Omicron, to predict that it isn't likely to make a difference to hospitalisation and deaths here. In that case, I would expect the measure to be removed. 

The problem with testing to return, is that you can't be sure at the end of your holiday, whether you might test positive and end up staying an extra 10 days or more in resort. That's unlikely to be in your holiday home. It could be in government accommodation. And even if there is a pool in the complex, you won't be allowed out of your room to use it. The fear of being unable to get back to work on time, will have the same chilling effect it had earlier this year, before the testing regime was relaxed. 

If testing stays, then it's likely it will remain throughout the winter, as these are Covid's halcyon days. My guess is that at some stage, flight schedules will be cancelled or reduced, because not enough people will want to take the chance. All that insecurity is bound to be good for the UK holiday industry once more.

[Paul]

perhaps rather than ask if 2022 will be better than 2021, we should be asking "what can we do to make it better?"

[Cal]

4 hours ago, Paul said:

perhaps rather than ask if 2022 will be better than 2021, we should be asking "what can we do to make it better?"

I think a lot rather depends on your perspective as well. 

Certainly for us 2021 has been a great year so far. We finally managed to realise our plan to sell the boat and buy the motorhome and have had ample chance to try it out through the year with some great trips in the planning for next year and beyond.

If next year is going to be better than this year then bring it on, I can't wait.