Grand UK Holidays sees trade-led surge in late bookings

Grand UK Holidays has reported a surge in late bookings, largely driven by enquiries from customers asking travel agents for “spontaneous” last-minute getaways across the British Isles.

Kirsty Laifa, sales and marketing manager at the mature travel specialist, said late sales have grown by 15-20% over the past six weeks.

She said it has been “very much trade-led” with agents calling the operator to ask for late availability.

“Customers [in branches] are asking the agents what date they can get away on a UK tour now, regardless of destination,” she said.

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“They just want to get away but noticeably in UK – and then being offered a choice of tours.”

Furthermore, she said the last-minute trend is particularly striking as the company offers coach tours, which are traditionally booked much earlier.

“The coach holiday customer has historically been someone who likes to plan ahead, so to see people actively calling us looking for a getaway at relatively short notice is a very noticeable change,” she said.

Laifa said several factors are driving the trend, including customers making the most of the warm, dry summer, a desire for “hassle-free” UK travel and “the appeal of being able to book a complete holiday package without the planning involved in arranging an independent break”.

“For many customers, the coach holiday also offers a particularly attractive late summer proposition: transport, accommodation, excursions and itineraries are organised in advance; customers can simply book and look forward to their trip,” she added.

“We are seeing customers saying, in effect, ‘Where can we still go?’. That appetite for a later getaway has been very noticeable.”

With warm weather forecast for September, she believes there are still opportunities for travel agents to capitalise on customers who may be keen for a last-minute escape.