WHILE England’s defeat in the Euro 2004 football
championships plunged most of the nation into despair, some of the trade claim
it may have sparked a market comeback.
Just days after the England team was knocked out, some
operators and agents reported an upturn in bookings for this summer.
Most claimed a combination of factors could have
spurred holidaymakers to book, including the football defeat, poor weather and
imminent school summer holidays.
Travelcare head of strategic development Paul Kendrick
said: “Sales turned a corner the weekend after the game.”
He claimed holidays to destinations such as Spain
could make a comeback because of a likely fall in prices where there is the
most stock remaining.
“Sales will be driven by capacity and price. We’ve also
seen a slight recovery in the euro which will help,” he added.
TUI UK head of sales Jeanne Lally said holidaymakers
are booking even later than in the past two years and there remains “tons of
availability”.
“It’s a combination of football, ropey weather and the
fact the market is booking later. Hopefully this will be a proper recovery,”
she added.
Argo Holidays sales and marketing director Theo
Demetriou called the sales upturn “unbelievable”. “We hoped England would win
but in our hearts we all knew it would help us if they were knocked out.”
But not everyone agreed the market is recovering.
Cosmos sales director Brian Young said: “I don’t think there’s been any change
for this summer.”
Club Med UK managing director Chris Woodbridge-Cox
agreed, claiming the expected bounce-back has not happened because there is
still too much capacity. “Bookings across the industry remain soft. The biggest
single factor is overcapacity in the market. That can only be addressed by the
big four operators,” he said.