UK travel companies are preparing for the busiest day of holiday bookings in years, as the traditional high season arrives free of Covid restrictions and with demand fueled by Britons hoping to escape strikes and constant crisis.
The travel industry’s “Sunshine Saturday”, the first day off after the new year back to work, used to be the most popular time to book a foreign holiday before the coronavirus. But foreign travel was largely off limits this time in 2021 and 2022, while hundreds of thousands of bookings made in January 2020 were postponed or refunded when the pandemic hit.
This year, however, holiday travel appears relatively safe – and companies believe that, despite the cost of living crisis, people who can afford it will still prioritize a holiday over all other discretionary spending.
Travel industry trade body Abta is tipping a bumper day for early bookings this Saturday, on the high street and online. According to his research, around three in five people plan to go abroad this year, with just over 30% of holidaymakers planning to book earlier than usual in a hunt for the best price.
While more than a third will cut their holiday spending, this figure compares well with those who forego new clothes, food and other leisure activities before embarking on a trip abroad.
Mark Tanzer, Abta Chief Executive, said: “The start of the year usually brings a lot of enthusiasm for holiday booking and we know that many people are really looking forward to going away in 2023. definitely a strong focus is on securing great value for money.
Vacation companies large and small reported increased bookings, easing some of the anxiety in an industry that feared rising bills and economic strife could derail its post-Covid recovery.
“We’ve learned not to be too optimistic – but so far we’re happy,” said Richard Singer, chief executive of Ice Travel Group, which runs comparison sites IceLolly and TravelSupermarket. Despite the cost of living crisis, his company has “decided to be quite bullish”, running TV advertising campaigns, and online traffic in the period since Boxing Day is up 300% on a year ago, he said.
“Bookings are really strong, the feedback from our partners like OnTheBeach is that conversions are really high. All trends suggest that it will definitely be a big booking weekend – whether it will be the biggest for years remains to be seen, but certainly since the pandemic.
James Pieslak, a spokesman for Jet2 Holidays, said: “There are a lot of bookings coming in for this winter, and summer is also looking very popular. We are looking forward with a lot of confidence.”
EasyJet Holidays said it was filling a plane a minute at the peak of its sales launched after Christmas, with destinations such as Tunisia and Egypt returning to popularity, although the biggest draws remain the beaches of Spain and Greece. Ryanair this week raised its annual profit forecast by £200m following strong demand.
Some companies are still finding reluctance to book early, amid vacations hampered by Covid-era border closures and long waits for refunds. The major holiday company TUI last month forecast sales in 2023 would approach 2019 levels, but with later bookings.
Travel agents say they are seeing more cautious consumers who prefer a package vacation rather than relying on airlines or building their own trips.
Tony Mann, the managing director of Idle Travel, a family-run Bradford-based agency, said 2022 was his busiest for years and 2023 looked likely to beat it. “Many people came back to travel agents, wanting them to guide them. As much as Covid was terrible, it showed the good agent’s strengths, helping people where they needed it.
Even the cost-of-living crisis, Mann said, doesn’t seem to have dampened bookings: “People may spend fewer nights or go to more value destinations – the all-inclusive, Turkey, even Bulgaria – but many are still looking always after their bucket list places, the Maldives and Thailand. They still have the wanderlust, no matter what their budget – people give up other things to get away from this time.
This week, the man said, “Phones were ringing off the hook, and we even had queues outside the store – it was like back in the 1980s when I had my mullet. It’s good to see.”
Abta’s top 23 destinations for 2023 * Spain
Abta’s Top 23 destinations for 2023 *
US
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| France | Italy | Greece |
|---|---|---|
| Portugal | Germany | Australia |
| Turkey | Cyprus | Austria |
| Thailand | Canada | Netherlands |
| United Arab Emirates | Ireland | Croatia |
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* Based on Abta consumer survey where people said they planned to travel See the article : The weird ways destinations tried to get you to visit in 2022.
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