Prepare for omichristmas. Even amid concern about the new variant and increased restrictions, many consumers will still pull out all the stops to make up for 2020.
Not everyone is on board, of course. In the U.K., even before Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to trigger his so-called "Plan B,” there were signs of caution in travel, drinking and dining. Trade body UKHospitality said anecdotal evidence pointed to lost bookings in direct response to the variant. This has been echoed by Azzurri Group, which owns restaurants Zizzi, ASK Italian and Coco di Mama. It has seen cancellations increase since the end of November, particularly among big groups and in city centers, which had been recovering nicely.
Travel company TUI AG, whose biggest markets are the U.K. and Germany, said on Wednesday that the variant was hitting winter holiday sales, after they had rebounded strongly. This echoes comments from EasyJet PLC, which said it had seen a "softening” in demand through the end of this year, with some customers transferring their bookings into early 2022. Domestic travel was holding up, as was demand for beach holidays next summer, but there was more of an impact from the variant on international city breaks.