Hoseasons has seen a 61% increase in advance bookings for holidays in 2010.
Speaking at a briefing on the domestic market at The Travel Convention in Barcelona, chief executive Richard Carrick revealed that the figures equate to an extra 100,000 holidays sold compared with this time last year.
The sales were driven by “unprecedented” change in consumer spending habits over the last 18 months, which Carrick believes have been “irreversibly affected” by the recession.
He said: “It has been a cracking year for the UK, but we need to see this in the context of what is happening in the wider travel market.”
He predicted that consumers will continue to cut back on their travel spend.
“People are also carrying high levels of personal debt that built up through sustained borrowing, and their focus is on cutting back and clearing debt, rather than spending.”
He also revealed that Hoseasons has sold more short breaks of three to four days than any other holiday this year, accounting for 51% of its total sales.
- More Travel Convention coverage at travelweekly.co.uk/abta2009