New Greece and Cyprus operator Dream Holidays, which marked its first birthday yesterday, has warned agents to expect a late booking market this year.
The new operator, run by former Libra Holidays boss Akis Kyprianou, said the demise of operators to the region like Libra has caused it to be under promoted in the UK while rivals like Turkey and Egypt have capitalised.
But he said the Barnet-based operator will gradually grow its operation from the 9,000 customers it carried in its first year to between 20,000 and 30,000 in five to six years time offering choice in the market.
Kyprianou told Travel Weekly: “All the indications are, despite the peaks in January, that it will be a very late market. But we are holding our nerve and we are not reducing our prices.
“Hopefully it will turn out to be a very successful high season for the tour operators.
“There are no independent operators anymore. Five or six years ago there were about six independent operators taking one and a half million people to these destinations. Now non exist.
“There is a gap in the market. As a result of all these people who used to promote the destinations no longer being around there is a lack of promotion.”
Dream Holidays remains a very small operation, with just 10 employees, up from six when it started. It sells 95% through the trade and does 95% of its flying with Monarch Airlines.
Kyprianou said with fuel prices so high it means operators have to be selective who they fly with and the air product they buy.
But he said it was hugely rewarding being part of a small start-up although he admitted he had been on a steep learning curve over the last 12 months. “It’s extremely fulfilling,” he said.
Libra Holidays was sold to the Allbury Group, which subsequently collapsed in December 2009.