THERE
was a drop in the overall number of holiday sales this winter, although the
average passenger spent more on going away, according to figures from the Civil
Aviation Authority.
The
number of holidays booked through operators and airlines holding ATOLs this
winter dropped by 2%, down from 10.4 million passengers in October 2000 to
March 2001 to 10.2 million for the same period in the 2001/2 season.
However,
operators were able to increase prices for holidays by an average of 2.9% in
the winter season. The average price paid per person rose from £456 to £470,
year on year.
CAA
director of consumer protection Helen Simpson said: “We were surprised at how
small the drop in bookings was, given the circumstances.
“These
figures came straight after a drop in confidence following September 11.
“The
economic situation was not good so, in context, it is quite a small reduction
and less serious than many people expected.
“Average
price increases were ahead of the rate of inflation. This shows it wasn’t just
moving distressed stock.”
The
full-year picture is promising, with a 2.4% volume increase in the year to
March 2002, when 29 million people bought flights and air holidays from
licensed UK travel companies, creating a turnover of £13.1 billion.
TUI
UK saw the number of passengers it carried in the 12 months to March 2002 drop
by 2%, from 3,985,480 last year to 3,925,198.
During the same period, the MyTravel Group saw a 4%
increase in passenger numbers.