Agents say bookings remain strong


Juliet Dennis and Samantha Mayling


Travel agents have reported a strong start to February trading after a bumper January despite the cost-of-living squeeze. Paul Waters, Premier Travel


managing director, said: “We remain super-pleased with sales and last week was exceptional, especially Monday and Tuesday (January 30-31) which marked the final two days of our best-ever month. “February has started in the


same vein. We are seeing the same percentage increases.” He said the July-September


period accounted for the most sales (40%), with short-haul destinations remaining the strongest sellers.


Kelly Cookes, chief commercial


officer at The Advantage Travel Partnership, reported “another fantastic week”, with bookings up 44% year on year and up 38% compared with the same period in 2019. She said lates continued to be


strong and summer was “booming”, adding: “Short-haul and long-haul both continue to be up – the US is selling really well for us.” Stephanie Slark, membership


services director at The Travel Network Group, said bookings remained similar week on week, with average values up and availability getting tighter and prices higher. She added: “Long-haul and


touring are taking more of the mix.” Independent Travel Experts


managing director Gary Gillespie


Industry rallies to help Turkey after devastating quakes


Josie Klein


Members of the travel trade rallied to help those impacted by deadly earthquakes in Turkey this week. As Travel Weekly went to press,


more than 6,300 people had been confirmed dead following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and several aftershocks on Monday. The tremors centred on the southeast of the country, close to the border with Syria, and were felt in Cyprus, Greece and Israel. Intrepid Travel launched an


emergency appeal and committed A$100,000 (£58,000) through its


4 9 FEBRUARY 2023


not-for-profit foundation to support immediate relief, aid and rescue efforts. All profits from Intrepid bookings


made on trips in Turkey will be donated to support the appeal until April 30. Intrepid chief executive James Thornton said: “Matching donations and donating all profits from our trips in Turkey is the least we can do for a country that has given so much to our travellers and done so much for the Intrepid community.” Ancillaries specialist Holiday


Extras pledged £10,000 to Oxfam’s emergency relief fund and also encouraged its customers to donate.


Sales of short-haul


and long-haul both continue to be up – the US is selling really well for us


agreed sales remained strong and said new deals were enticing customers after early-booking offers had ended. Travel Counsellors reported that


£114.5 million in sales represented its best January since its inception 28 years ago. The homeworking company is now trading 65% up on pre-pandemic levels since the start of its financial year in November 2022. Chris Bailey, managing director


of Bailey’s Travel, said: “We are giddy with excitement – it’s going so well.”


The confidence for February


comes as Barclaycard said consumer card spending on travel rose 66% year on year in January. Sales through agencies and airlines rose 83% and 76% respectively, while domestic travel transactions were up 12%. Barclaycard attributed the


growth to the impact of Omicron restrictions in 2022, higher prices, and Brits spending more on holidays to make up for missed opportunities in recent years. Silvia Ardagna, head of European


economics research at Barclays, said the UK economy is likely to contract in the first quarter but added: “The silver lining is that the labour market remains tight, with low unemployment


and elevated wage growth.” i IFS outlook: Business, back page


Intrepid Travel and Holiday Extras have pledged to support rescue efforts


Travel agents posted support on


social media, with Advantage Travel Partnership chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said tweeting: “Thoughts and prayers to everyone affected.” However, the trade reported


limited impact on enquiries or bookings as the affected region is a considerable distance from resorts popular with tourists. Althams Travel managing director


Sandra McAllister said: “Up to now, we have just had a handful of customers contact us, mainly asking if it would affect their holiday. “Of course, we have tried to


reassure them and offer advice. There’s been no real fallout of bookings or any cancellations as yet.” Holidaysplease brand and


business development executive Cat Reeves said: “While obviously the events are tragic, we wouldn’t expect our market to be particularly affected. “We have had a few concerns


from customers but nothing that has stopped sales to Turkey. We haven’t had any cancellations.” Tricia Handley-Hughes, UK director


of InteleTravel, said the earthquakes had not affected bookings and she did not anticipate many cancellations.


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