The industry needs to work more cohesively to tackle economic uncertainty by creating a comprehensive picture of booking patterns, according to GfK Ascent managing director Sarah Smalley.
During a session at The Travel Convention on travel trends in which Smalley delivered a report on 2010 trends, former Hoseasons boss Richard Carrick challenged the validity of the data.
He claimed the statistics gave only a partial picture of what was actually happening because it didn’t include data such as direct airline, hotel and ferry bookings.
In response, Smalley echoed TWgroup chairman Clive Jacobs’ earlier call for unity in the industry to best cope with continued difficult trading conditions.
She said while the statistics, which draw on 19 million people’s bookings, were not all-encompassing they were the best available, adding that she would welcome the inclusion of more channels.
“Now, when the industry is under threat, is the time for a cohesive use of bookings to get the best view possible,” she added.
The trends for 2010 so far show a decline in bookings of 5% but this decline is limited to trips worth less than £600.
For holidays costing more than £600, there has been 8% growth and shops continue to outperform online for higher value purchases.
All-inclusive holidays are still growing in strength, up from 17% of all bookings in summer 2007 to 34% this summer, as consumers favour pre-holiday budgeting to the detriment of self-catering and half-board trips.
The traditional seven and 14-night holiday durations are declining slowly, down two or three percentage points since 2007, with eight to 13-night holidays picking up the slack.
And mid-haul non-euro destinations such as Egypt and Turkey are up 21% this year with euro destinations falling by 11%.
- More from the Travel Convention at travelweekly.co.uk/tc2010