The warm weather this week, beyond being a struggle at points, has finally signalled the beginning of summer and is a clear reflection on the impact of climate change!
The holiday season feels to be of even greater importance this year given the heightened stresses and strains many are feeling, and yet as people begin looking ahead to their mid-year breaks, disruption appears likely to get in the way at multiple points. With the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) now operational in most countries, multi-hour queues have already been reported at major points of departure, with Dover, Eurotunnel terminals and several large European airports seeing significant delays over the late May bank holiday.
Closer to home, rail passengers face the prospect of further industrial action running into the height of summer, while Ofgem has confirmed a 13% energy price cap rise from 1 July, adding to household budget pressure that is already shaping how, and where, people choose to spend.
The hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors offer one of the clearest examples of why service should be considered, designed and implemented end-to-end across a number of sectors and industries rather than thought of only at the destination. Whether a customer is travelling abroad, taking the train across the country or a ‘staycation’, the same test applies: does every part of the journey and experience reinforce the promise that has been made to them?
The customer experience starts long before they arrive
The rationale behind EES is a reasonable one: modernising old and sometimes inefficient systems, automating traditionally manual tasks to reduce error, enforcing travel rules more effectively through better visibility and enabling smoother data collection. It is easy to forget that its fundamental purpose was to speed things up.
But execution is critical. Airlines and airport groups have described the rollout as one of the most disruptive border changes in recent memory, and some countries, such as Greece, have actively explored carve-outs from the schemes for British Nationals (with confusion as to the actual policy) or at particularly busy times.
This offers a valuable reminder for service and business well beyond travel. The customer experience begins at the very first interaction and continues to be shaped at every touch point along the way. It’s the security guard who asks you how your day is going, the delivery driver who smiles as she hands you your package, and it’s the policeman who advises you on the best place to park.
For travel and hospitality operators especially, that means thinking carefully about how to support customers through disruption over which you have no control by communicating proactively, being flexible on bookings, equipping and engaging staff on the ground so they can step in to help or answer questions, and showing empathy when plans go awry – whoever or whatever is ultimately to blame.
As I found myself on a delayed flight back from Scotland yesterday, I reflected on just how well the pilot and crew managed the communication and the baggage handlers and bus drivers who attempted to address the fact that we were on the wrong stand and our luggage had gone somewhere else!
The opportunity for UK hospitality, leisure and tourism
That same principle applies for local businesses too, whether on high streets, at beaches or as part of resorts and attractions. With around three-quarters of UK adults planning a domestic break this year, the “staycation” summer is a real commercial opportunity for UK operators. The forecast of 45.5 million inbound visits in 2026 reinforces that point.
And with more households carefully counting every penny, value (and not price alone) has become increasingly important to people (as we have seen recently in the UK Customer Satisfaction Index).
The highest-performing organisations invest not only in the basics: a reliable booking and arrival experience, thoughtfully trained teams, they have a service culture that encourages them to anticipate problems and empowers them to fix them, rather than waiting for them to impact customers.
In a summer when so much feels outside any one individual or organisation’s control, the businesses that earn satisfaction and loyalty will be those that make the parts they do control feel effortless, ensure high standards through their supply chain, and offer support for problems outside their control. That is both the challenge – and the opportunity – of the end-to-end service offering.
So, as you book (and hopefully go on) your own leave over the summer, do reflect on your role as a customer too… try to be a good customer and don’t forget to provide relevant and helpful feedback!
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