Hays Travel’s sales have reached January 2020 levels for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Dame Irene Hays, owner of the UK’s biggest independent travel agency chain, said bookings last week had caught up to “100% of January 2020” levels.
She told Travel Weekly: “Bearing in mind in January 2020 we had just acquired Thomas Cook, we’re absolutely delighted.
“We knew there would be a bounce back, we just didn’t know how big it would be.”
She credited the government’s relaxation of travel restrictions for arrivals to the UK from February 11 for boosting holiday sales.
“The biggest single barrier to sales was worry about contracting Covid abroad and getting stuck but second was all the bureaucracy,” she said.
The firm’s sales at the weekend (January 29-30) were the strongest since the equivalent weekend in 2020 despite fears bookings would be hit by Storm Malik in north-east England and Scotland.
“We thought a lot of people would not go out because trees were being blown down, so for us to have such a strong performance in light of the storm warnings was remarkable,” said Hays.
The top season for bookings is summer, followed by lates, she said, adding that the long-haul market has “exploded” as more clients sought “experiences and specialist product”.
Hays said cruise bookings were “holding up strongly” with encouraging sales for travel departing further out.
She said staff were still having to deal with cancellations and amendments as well as increased sales, adding: “The staff have been phenomenal.”