More travel agencies have reported a bounce in bookings since news of potential vaccines began to emerge.
Midcounties Co-operative’s travel division saw a 31% uplift in sales in the seven days from the November 9 Pfizer announcement across its retail network, homeworking division and consortium members compared with the week before, despite travel agency doors being closed due to lockdown.
Chief operating officer Rad Sofronijevic said ongoing news of vaccine progress, the opening of further travel corridors, the end of lockdown, the ‘Test to release’ quarantine system and Black Friday had “boosted consumer confidence to travel” in combination.
Barrhead Travel said both enquiries and bookings rise since the Pfizer announcement with customers booking 2021 through to 2023. November was 40% up on October as a result, the company said.
President Jacqueline Dobson said the news has “definitely provided much-needed hope that travel may be able to gradually resume during 2021” noting that demand since the vaccine announcement has been “more consistent” than spikes when travel corridors have been announced.
Dobson said the US and Dubai had proven popular, as had cruise, but she added: “We still urgently need the UK government to review its overall approach to travel and how it will support the industry with a sustainable recovery until the vaccine becomes widely available.”
Steve Wood, director of homeworking firm Explorer Travel, noted the “long drought” ahead of the vaccine news and said: “We sold as much travel last week as we did in the same week last year and sales over the weekend have rocketed.”
The agencies upbeat booking trends followed similar results at the Advantage Travel Partnership, Not Just Travel and Travel Counsellors.
The Travel Network Group said members are “definitely getting a lot more enquiries” but a spokeswoman said “most people are still cautious and waiting for the vaccinations’ timelines before booking”.