| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 14/08/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 20 |
| Copyright: Other |
Thomson brand
OSL axes apartments for 2001
Report by STEVE JONES
THOMSON-owned villa brand OSL has axed apartments from its 2001 brochure as it looks to focus on its core product.Only a handful of apartments remain in the programme while the number of villas has been expanded by 50%.
Brand manager Tim Phillis claimed the apartments had sold reasonably well but did not target the operator’s primary audience.
“OSL is a villa brand and that is what we want to concentrate on. The villa market is also in a healthy position which is reflected in the increase in the number of properties.”
The brand re-entered the marketplace this summer, seven years after being dropped by Thomson.
Phillis claimed that sales for this year, which have been heavily reliant on Lunn Poly, have gone well but he admitted that OSL needed to re-establish itself as a leading player in the villa market.
“We need to get ourselves known again,” he said.
Villas have been added for next year in Lanzarote, Minorca and the Algarve.
Other destinations featured in the brochure are Corfu, Cyprus, Malta, Gozo, Majorca, Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol.
Offers include guaranteed free child places on all holidays that are booked before September 30.
Single-parent deals, group discounts and two weeks for the price of one in selected accommodation are also available.
Prices, which have increased by 2%-3%, lead in at £338 per person at the Villa Helena, Minorca, departing from Gatwick airport between May 1 and 16.
Phillis said the brochure itself had undergone some minor alterations, including flight panels being moved from the resort introduction pages to the back of the brochure.