Country Cottages in Ireland is offering a discounted deposit of £79 per week on bookings for summer 2000, valid until March 31. This compares to the usual deposit of £250 per property per week.
Managing director Geoff Cowley said the move had helped boost pre-Christmas sales for the programme which went on sale in November
The operator features 410 properties located throughout the south of Ireland and carries approximately 20,000 passengers a year.
The most popular regions are Cork and Kerry, with increasing interest in the counties of Wicklow and Waterford.
Cowley said Ireland was enjoying a surge of popularity at the moment due to the peace settlement in Northern Ireland and increased media coverage generally.
He said the recent establishment of a Northern Ireland Assembly and the anticipated stability this would bring could open the door for the Thomson-owned perator to move into Northern Ireland.
“Some of the product is really good quality and we will look at it again for next year,” he added.
Lead-in price for summer 2000 is £213 per week for a property sleeping twopeople.
Larger properties are also available such as the Old Monastery in Kerry which sleeps up to 16 people. Prices are inclusive of ferry crossings.
The operator has doubled the number of brochures mailed to agents to 60,000 this year in a bid to increase bookings through the trade.