Travel agents have enjoyed another week of record sales with some firms reporting clients booking multiple holidays at the same time.
Agents said there was no sign of bookings easing off, with last Saturday’s sales beating record highs seen on ‘Sunshine Saturday’ for many.
Barrhead Travel said its best‑ever sales day on January 7 had been followed by two consecutive record weeks.
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“There are no signs of the market slowing down at the minute,” said president Jacqueline Dobson.
“Customers are telling us they want to book as early as possible to make the most of sale savings as well as having the opportunity to manage monthly payments.”
She added: “Multiple bookings at once are more common too, with some branches reporting customers are booking up to three holidays in one go.”
Sam Smith Travel sales and commercial manager Suzanne Cumpston reported the same trend.
“People are coming in to book not just one, but two or three holidays,” she said.
Agents said they were continuing to see a broad range of destinations and holidays booked.
“There’s a real balance between old favourites as well as long-haul destinations increasing in popularity again,” said Dobson.
Barrhead reported strong demand for Tenerife, Orlando, Turkey and New York as well as Canada and the Caribbean, and rising interest in destinations such as Japan.
The Advantage Travel Partnership said Saturday’s sales were 129% up year on year and beat Sunshine Saturday, with about 30% to 35% of bookings for departures within 12 weeks.
Chief commercial officer Kelly Cookes said: “It’s definitely not slowing down yet. Normally peaks run until the end of February, but I’d like to think it will continue [longer] this year.”
The Travel Network Group’s members enjoyed their best Saturday of January last weekend but were “still seeing some weekdays that are better than Saturdays”.
Fred Olsen Travel said sales last week were 40% up on the same week last year, with Mondays the busiest days followed by Saturdays.
Deben Travel owner Lee Hunt said: “It’s already our best January in the 11 years we have been trading and we still have another week to go.”
He said this was despite some clients asking about media reports of further Border Force strikes starting this month at airports and ports. “It’s up to us to reassure clients,” he said.
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