Juliet Dennis: Chief Reporter, Travel Weekly
In my early years at Travel Weekly, I learnt how the industry ticked, thanks mostly to those who worked in the sector who were happy to share their knowledge to a young, inexperienced travel trade journalist.
◦ 11 min readFormative Years & Career Path
You’ve spent more than two decades reporting on the travel industry. What first sparked your interest in journalism – and in travel as a subject?
It all started when I was a teenager. Every time I read an article I felt strongly about, I put pen to paper. I became a letter-writing queen – it even earned me a few quid when one was published in a women’s magazine. I remember receiving a call from the letters editor of The Independent newspaper on one occasion to tell me he was taking the company name out of my letter before printing it to avoid a libel – I only learnt what that actually was years later at journalism college! At 16, I came up with the ingenuous (I thought) idea to write and produce my own family newspaper. The Dennis Express was born. Looking back, many of the front pages featured articles on family holidays – a sign of my career to come perhaps…
Looking back at your formative years, were there early experiences or influences that shaped your curiosity about travel, culture or storytelling?
A trip to South Africa with my brother when I was about 10 to see our grandparents sparked an interest in travel. My decision to study German at university led to more travel opportunities and the chance to write about my trips for various student publications, from tales about my part-time job cleaning canteen tables at Konstanz University to visiting Berlin before and after the fall of the wall.
It wasn’t until my second job, on The Swindon Evening Advertiser, I got paid to write a travel-related article. The paper needed a journalist to join a river cruise down the Danube to write a piece for the travel pages. I jumped at the chance.
Between visits to medieval castles, Baroque cathedrals, and a Benedictine monastery, I discovered the delights of apple-strudel flavoured ice-cream and schnapps. I wanted more – not just of the strudel and schnapps but also the travel. Seven years later, as a reporter for trade magazine Travel Weekly, I wrote a news story about the demise of escorted tours operator Travelscope – the very company that took me on that memorable trip from Swindon to the Danube.
You joined Travel Weekly as a reporter and rose through the ranks to chief reporter. What do you remember most about those early days covering the travel trade?
Within three weeks of starting at Travel Weekly in 2001, I was eating chicken feet in Beijing and walking along the Great Wall of China. A rollercoaster of travel and learning experiences followed. I sailed down the Zambezi, fed a stingray in the Bahamas, flew to the Friench Riviera to interview a travel tech boss, attended a financial results press conference for a well-known German tour operator, mingled with travel agents, tour operators, tourist boards and airlines at overseas conferences.
The industry was full of larger-than-life characters who worked their way up from scratch to run package holiday companies.
Intasun founder Harry Goodman, credited with pioneering low-cost package holidays in the 1970s and a mentor to bosses of Tui and Thomas Cook, was running TV Travel Shop – Britain’s first holiday shopping channel.
Other entrepreneurs were just starting out in the industry. I interviewed a former fighter pilot who made his first million by the age of 33 before losing it all in the 1990 recession and deciding to become a travel agent selling flights from home. He went on to set up a group of independent travel agents. Fast forward 30 years and that group is now part of one of the industry’s major players.
In my early years at Travel Weekly, I learnt how the industry ticked, thanks mostly to those who worked in the sector who were happy to share their knowledge to a young, inexperienced travel trade journalist. In those days all interviews were in person or over the telephone. There was no website or daily email news alert to feed stories and trade journalists spent more time out meeting contacts in person than could ever be contemplated in today’s 24-hour news world. There may have been have less stories published, but they were far from bland – quite the opposite.
Some of the biggest stories – usually large-scale company failures of household names or disasters affecting holidaymakers’ travel plans – will be familiar to most.
I remember travelling up to Thomas Cook’s offices in Peterborough and stepping into a boardroom full of senior executives who watched my shorthand scribbles with amusement as I nervously quizzed the then company boss. Less than a decade later I was reporting on the company’s collapse, the impact of which was industry-wide. The first Covid lockdown a few months later forced us all to work from home, but the hours were long as travel was never far from the headlines. It was one of the busiest times I can remember.
What are the biggest changes you’ve witnessed for your readers (travel agents ) over the course of your career?
Technology has transformed the leisure travel landscape, not just how travel agents book and sell holidays but also the research and knowledge of holidaymakers. Travel agents today have to work harder than ever to be the experts and have tapped into the web and social media to reach new audiences.
Customers’ expectations have also risen considerably. To survive, travel agents must provide a highly professional customer service – and the majority do not charge a fee for that. Their ability to adapt is borne out of necessity but also demonstrates the sector’s ‘can do’ attitude and recognition that success depends on meeting the changing needs of today’s consumers.
One of the biggest growth areas in the travel industry in recent years has been the rapid rise in the number of travel agents working remotely. At Travel Weekly, we used to write stories about the predicted “death of the travel agent”. By contrast, travel agents have in fact evolved. The number working at home has ballooned and many still focus on face to face sales – with great success.
As a journalist covering the travel trade, what makes a story truly compelling for you? Memorable interviews/moments?
A compelling story for our readership can range from a company collapse, terrorist attack or natural disaster affecting thousands of travel businesses to a story about a one-man-band celebrating half a century in the trade or a tour operator introducing a destination for the first time.
The most gripping tales are often those that affect a large number of readers; those that dig beneath the surface; exclusives other media outlets have missed; or unusual, unexpected tales. Travel is impacted by everything from tsunamis and terrorism to pandemics and war.
One of my most memorable interviews was with a mother shortly after the death of her son. Reuben died at 11 months after suffering a brain tumour. The tears flowed, hers and mine, at the sadness and injustice of it all. Nicola Graham worked in the travel industry and decided to set up a charity in her son’s name – Reuben’s Retreat. Her strength and determination, and the success of the retreat for families of children with life-limiting illnesses or complex medical needs in the years since that first interview has been one of the most enduring stories during my 25 years at Travel Weekly. The industry continues to support this charity and Nicola continues to be an inspirational lady in the travel industry.
Industry Today
Post-pandemic, the travel industry has experienced both recovery and reinvention. What trends do you believe will shape the next decade?
Holiday demand will be shaped by the needs of both an ageing demographic and the new generations of younger travellers. It is reasonable to assume there will be even higher expectations for travel businesses to operate sustainable and ethical practices and for the tourism industry to provide more inclusive and accessible holidays. My hope is more hotels and resorts will see the importance and commercial opportunity of evolving to meet these needs just as they have adapted to meet growth in other sectors, such as luxury and solo travel. Cruise, touring and adventure holidays are examples of sectors which still have plenty of scope to grow.
Technology continues to transform travel – from AI to distribution platforms. Which innovations do you think will have the most impact on agents and suppliers?
AI is without doubt a game-changer for the travel industry but ultimately, the travel industry remains a people business. Businesses are already tapping into the opportunity to automate back-office processes and this could transform the way they work in terms of speed and efficiency. But companies, particularly traditional travel agencies, are adamant the human side of customer service and the personal touch will remain key to retaining and building their customer databases.
How important do you think storytelling and journalism remain in helping the industry navigate change?
Content and telling the news accurately will always be key. The way news is reported and where people read it may change but those who work in the travel industry will always want to know what the key stories are, the changes, the trends, the breaking news. This will in turn help inform how they run their businesses and look after their staff.
Personal Perspective
After reporting on the industry for so long, what still excites you about travel today?
I still get excited about visiting somewhere for the first time and taking part in activities and excursions, learning about different cultures and meeting new people.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone considering a career in travel journalism, what would it be?
Understand what the job really entails. It is a career that often sounds glamorous – and it certainly can be – but ultimately it is hard graft, involves long hours and working under pressure.
You’ve spent years telling the travel industry’s story. Looking ahead, what story about travel do you hope will be written in the next decade?
It would be rewarding to write a story about the global travel industry taking really significant strides to change the way it operates in order to be available to a larger base of customers with accessible and inclusive needs. To hear travel agents say they still cannot guarantee an accessible hotel room for a client or that swimming pool hoists are often broken or outdated is disappointing and upsetting given how long this topic has been discussed. There is a sizeable commercial opportunity available if people with these extra needs can travel. But it requires change, not just of the holidays and facilities, but also of attitudes, knowledge and understanding. The story is too often one of the fear of how to sell to disabled travellers and the barriers to entry rather than meaningful change, but I’m hopeful the tide is finally turning and there will be more progress in the next few years.
Exotic Quickfire
A destination that completely surprised you?
I visited Gibraltar last year with a group of independent tour operators and travel agents. We trekked, we biked, we paddle boarded. Who knew there was so much to do on this small British peninsula off mainland Spain, famed for its rock and war tunnels?
The most glamorous industry event you’ve attended?
The Travel Weekly Globe awards run by our magazine each year to celebrate the great and good of the travel industry at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel. It’s the industry version of the Baftas.
Any star-struck moments? I sat next to astronaut Tim Peake on a flight but only managed small talk after working up the courage to say hello. I chatted to Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley and his family at a travel trade conference many years ago.
The one travel ritual you always follow when you arrive somewhere new?
I always check where there’s a supermarket so I can pop in to see what the locals buy. I usually buy unusual confectionary to take home for colleagues and my kids to try out.
Your ultimate “escape-from-the-newsroom” destination?
Journalists are always on duty and emails on your mobile phone mean you can never really escape. It would have to be somewhere without a WiFi connection – a safari in Africa perhaps?
The most unforgettable hotel view you’ve experienced?
Last year our family holiday was in Cavtat in Croatia. The view from our hotel balcony of the sea and mountains through the trees as the sun set was entrancing. The views on our previous summer holiday in Lake Garda comes a close second.