The trade is pinning its hopes on a ‘second peak’ as families continue to hold off booking overseas holidays, with fears growing they may ‘skip a year’.
The Advantage Travel Partnership head of commercial John Sullivan told a Travel Weekly round-table debate: “People are waiting for a late deal. Masses of capacity has been added to the market so there’s plenty to sell. We’re just all hanging on for that second peak.”
But he admitted: “A big percentage of bookings are for 12 weeks out, later in the year or 2025, so is some of the family market skipping a year and booking ahead?”
Hotelplan UK chief operating officer John Mansell said the group had been forced to drop prices for this past winter season, suggesting families were reluctant to book.
“For Santa’s Lapland, we carried the same volumes as last year but we had to drop prices – we also saw a lot of cancellations,” he said, adding: “It’s due to the cost of living – families have been hit hard. We’d never discounted a holiday in half-term before, but we had to this season.”
Operators and cruise lines noted the importance of all-inclusives as families looked at ways to budget.
“Families are definitely the most cost-conscious,” said Gold Medal marketing director Sarah Lancashire.
Lucia Rowe, A-Rosa managing director, agreed: “If you make it affordable and good value, and the right environment, they [families] will commit to bookings.”
Meanwhile, agents told Travel Weekly they were preparing for a busy lates period after this year’s early Easter and hoping families would be enticed to book last minute, driven by large numbers of free child places.
Seaside Travel brand manager Richard Lowrey-Heywood said: “I’ve never seen so many free child places on sale on the system, so we’ve been using that in social media marketing to families. I’m gearing staff up for lates to be massive this year.”
Barrhead Travel reported a notable rise in late family bookings for the Easter break and predicted a repeat of the trend for May half-term.
President Jacqueline Dobson said: “Keen pricing, especially during the latter half of the holidays, has prompted last-minute demand from the family market. Summer 2024 continues to be the biggest season for all our divisions but I also think we’ll see another flurry of late bookings for the upcoming May bank holidays.”