Holiday sales have continued to climb and overtake pre-pandemic levels in volumes and sales values, according to agents.
Reports came ahead of the lifting of testing restrictions on vaccinated UK arrivals from today (Friday, February 11).
Miles Morgan Travel chairman Miles Morgan said his business was “in the best position for two years”, adding: “I’ve dreamt of this moment.”
Its sales last week beat the same week in 2020 “by a lot”. Morgan, who has begun a regional TV ad campaign, said: “We expect the same this week; there’s no reason not to.”
Fred Olsen Travel head of commercial Paul Hardwick agreed: “It feels different to other upturns in the past two years where we were still unsure if holidays we were booking would actually travel.”
He cited “consistently strong” sales over the past three weeks, with summer the most popular season and a “higher than normal level of brand‑new customers”.
Average sales values reached “almost £5,000”, more than £1,000 above pre-pandemic levels, said Hardwick. The business started its biggest marketing campaign since Covid to capitalise on the sales surge.
Althams Travel managing director Sandra McAllister said “things are at last getting back to some normality”.
Most of the agency’s sales have been late bookings (45%) or summer 2022 bookings (43%).
McAllister said: “There is still hesitancy but, as things continue to look positive, we’re seeing confidence build.”
Advantage Travel Partnership leisure director Kelly Cookes also felt “much more optimistic” as the sales momentum of recent weeks continued.
“The February [11] date is helping with confidence, as does news about destinations opening up, such as Australia,” she said, noting sales through the consortium’s managed service branches remained up on 2019 each week.
Polka Dot Travel director Mark Johnson also acknowledged the issue but was “very hopeful” of a strong summer lates market and expects that restrictions in Europe will become simpler over the coming months.
“The signs are promising but we still have some way to go,” he said.
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Flight Centre reported its busiest week of leisure enquiries since the start of the pandemic this week. Enquiries on Monday (February 7) – when Australia announced it reopening date – were 36% higher than the agency’s previous pandemic record.
Australia, Mexico and the Maldives were in “huge demand”, said Flight Centre, which is expecting “a further surge of bookings throughout February and the spring period” as restrictions ease.
It has invested “millions” in new technology for its agents, from booking systems to e-commerce platforms in a bid to ensure the company is “prepped and ready to get Brits travelling once again”.
The firm pointed out that spikes in bookings have a causal effect in increasing prices to popular destinations, as aircraft and accommodation capacity begins to reduce.
But a spokeswoman for the group said: “With the assistance of a travel agents’ expertise, there are means of working around this, making it more affordable for consumers to travel to their desired destination.
She added: “Airlines are adding capacity every day and these prices will eventually stabilise.”