Specialist tour operator Explore has reported its biggest sales day in three years on ‘Blue Monday’.
The company said January 17 – the third Monday in January, and known as ‘Blue Monday’ as it is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year – was a record day for sales.
It was the strongest day for sales in three years, pre-dating the start of the Covid pandemic, and came on the penultimate day of the operator’s peak season Big Blue Sale.
Explore managing director Michael Edwards said the sale – which offered discounts of more than 250 of the operator’s trips – had attracted “unprecedented demand”.
He said: “We knew there was real pent-up demand for adventure in 2022, and we knew our Big Blue Sale would be big, but this has blown us away.
“It’s fantastic to see a real mix of destinations being booked, and trips from as soon as next month to well into 2023. Travel is definitely back, and we’re all ready for it.”
The most popular destination booked though Explore was Italy, with sales up 118% on January 2019, but Spain’s sales saw the highest leap, up 125% on the same time in 2019. Greece sales were up 71% on 2019 while walking holidays were up 82%.
Long-haul destinations such as India, Costa Rica and Jordan, the Maldives and Kilimanjaro all booked strongly, suggesting high demand for bucket list experiences and destinations.