In an Amadeus

UK survey of more than 100 UK
travel agents and industry professionals, it was revealed that over 86
percent of respondents feel that it will take from between six months to a
year or more to recover, while only 14 percent of respondents believe that
the UK travel industry will recover within three months following the end of
a possible war with Iraq.

When asked, `If a war with Iraq becomes a reality, how long it will take for
the UK travel industry to recover once the war is over?` 46 percent of the
travel professionals surveyed indicated that they think the industry will
take a year or more to recover, with the remaining 40 percent believing that
recovery is likely to take around six months.

Commenting on the poll results Arnaud Debuchy, Managing Director of Amadeus
UK, stated, “The potential threat of war is obviously at the forefront of
people`s minds.  The travel industry has been especially hard-hit over the
past 18 months and the effects of a possible war will be influenced by the
continuing threat of terrorism and a general malaise in the world economy.

“To date, UK booking trends for air travel seem to be mirroring the pattern
of previous years.  We have not seen a decline in bookings that could
specifically be attributed to the threat of war, but we would obviously
expect to see booking levels fall, if in fact a war does occur.  Amadeus UK
is now considering ways in which we can work with customers to soften the
impact of a potential decline in bookings should war become a reality.”
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