The chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership said she expects the market to soften as she noted a growing number of all-inclusive and cruise bookings.
Speaking at Travel Weekly’s Business Breakfast to mark the launch of the annual Insight Report, published in partnership with Deloitte, Julia Lo Bue-Said told delegates trading is “exceptionally strong” but that members are seeing a gradual slowdown.
“Bookings for next year are looking pretty positive but every week we’re seeing a slight drop-off,” she said. “About a month ago we were 20% ahead of where we were last year but each week that’s starting to dip.”
Lo Bue-Said added certain markets are performing better than others, namely all-inclusive and cruise, with Turkey, the Canary Islands and Spain among the most popular destinations.
She noted how consumers are increasingly basing their bookings on price rather than the destination itself.
“In our latest research, 71% of our members reported pricing is a bigger priority for consumers over destination; price is determining where people are travelling,” she said.
“We’ve been encouraged that long-haul has also come back really strong, highlighted by the fact the US is still our top-selling destination.”
Lo Bue-Said reported city breaks are also performing well, which was echoed by fellow panellist Matt Callaghan, director of customer and operations for easyJet holidays.
She went on to say there was growing “nervousness and concerns around the cost of living” among customers which means conversions “aren’t as instant as they used to be”, but that overall demand has not slowed as notably as what was forecast.
Expressing her optimism for 2023, she said: “Consumers want to travel and they’re making emotional decisions, which is good for our industry.
“We’ve got to continually showcase that we sell dreams and that it’s in increasingly important to travel. The more we do that as an industry, the more consumers will want to book with our constituent businesses.”