Martin Alcock on Unpacked by TTG podcast

TTC Director Martin Alcock joined the first episode of TTG’s newly launched podcast, Unpacked. The podcast is hosted fortnightly and features guest appearances from well-known figures across the travel trade, who join the TTG editorial team to analyse and discuss key industry topics.

The inaugural episode focused on peak travel periods and explored whether traditional peaks are becoming a thing of the past. Martin was interviewed by TTG Editor-in-Chief Sophie Griffiths, with the discussion also covering Black Friday, capacity, and broader market conditions.

Here are a few highlights from the episode:

• The Autumn Budget was more positive than expected, and Martin is optimistic about the market.
• The UK travel sector is expected to reach its highest-ever capacity in 2026 – 35.6 million passengers, equivalent to around 50% of the UK population.
• Booking behaviour continues to be influenced by pricing and personal wealth. When committing to a trip, consumers are now considering whether they’ll still be able to afford a holiday at the time of travel.
• The older, wealthier demographic currently has more disposable income than this time last year, although purchasing decisions are increasingly driven by fear and uncertainty.

Reflecting on consumer confidence, Martin commented:

“As soon as the Budget was announced, from November to December, there was an increase again [in consumer confidence], and I’m fairly confident we’ll see that again this year.”

The latest episode of Unpacked by TTG is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and ttgmedia.com, with new episodes released fortnightly.

If you liked this article, we think you’ll love these:

• TTC Travel Fundamentals – 2 December 2025
• Autumn Budget at AITO Overseas Conference: Martin Alcock quoted in Travel Weekly