Jet2holidays has already started preparations for a ‘Back with a Bang’ sales campaign in anticipation of a surge in demand when the coronavirus pandemic comes to an end.
The trade has predicted a “massive pent up demand” once the crisis is over and it is safe for consumers to travel.
Jet2holidays head of trade sales Alan Cross said travel companies needed to plan now for the predicted bounce-back.
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Speaking to Travel Weekly editor-in-chief Lucy Huxley during a video interview, he said: “We are building a campaign called ‘Back with a Bang’. If you don’t do it now, you’ll miss the boat.
“We are looking at social media and marketing content and at ensuring agents know the product they are selling. When things recover, customers will want that last minute holiday.”
Cross said 2021 holidays were already selling “very well”.
Miles Morgan Travel owner Miles Morgan said there a “strong rationale” for arguing clients should secure their 2021 bookings now as prices were likely to rise for next year once the crisis was over.
He said: “We will have massive pent-up demand to fufil. You have got to keep your marketing up, use your database and your social media.
“The industry will go through a very hard 2020 and prices for 2021 will probably be substantially higher than normal. Tour operators will have to recoup some of that money which to me means prices will be higher.
“What better message than to tell consumers that securing something now for 2021 is a smart move. As soon as the virus starts to wane, people will be thinking, let’s get in there now.”
Jo Rzymowska, vice president and managing director EMEA, Celebrity Cruises, said bookings were already coming in for later in the year and 2021. “We are making sure agents have the tools to book holidays further out,” she said.
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