NEWS


GOING FOR GOLD:More than 100 travel agents joined 50 supplier partners as Gold Medal hosted its annual Big Day Out celebration at Carden Park in Cheshire last week. The two-day event, held in partnership with T


ravel Weekly, included a welcome


function before golfers tackled the venue’s 18-hole championship course and non-golfing “adventurers” enjoyed a programme of activities including a treasure hunt, axe throwing and an assault course. The event finished with a grand finale, including the presentation of prizes including a holiday for an agent winner. In addition to T


Delta Air Lines and Visit Florida. i See more photos in next week’s magazine


Gulf peace deal boosts holiday intentions and package demand


Ian Taylor and Juliet Dennis


The number of UK consumers ‘very likely’ to take an overseas holiday between now and September has risen significantly since the US-Iran peace deal, according to research for Travel Weekly. Almost three out of 10


respondents (29%) said they are ‘very likely’ to take a holiday in the next three months in a post-peace agreement poll, more than three percentage points up on the previous survey in May. A three-point rise represents


on June 15. The deal was signed on June 17, and the Foreign Office (FCDO) relaxed its advice against all but essential travel to the UAE, Qatar and other Gulf states on June 18. The results also suggest a sharp


STORY TOP


rise in demand for packages following the war, with one in three respondents (32%) – and 43% of those planning to travel – saying they are ‘more likely than usual’ to book an Atol-protected holiday ‘given the situation in the Middle East and potential for


disruption’. However, the survey found


more than 1.6 million adults and potentially as many households. The same survey, by The Harris


Poll UK, found a 10-point fall since April in the proportion of respondents ‘not confident’ to travel abroad. The monthly poll was carried


out on June 16-22 following the announcement of a US-Iran deal


travelweekly.co.uk


no increase in intention to travel beyond Europe and a two-point fall since mid-May in the proportion ‘comfortable’ to fly via the Gulf or to take a holiday in the region. Those findings were broadly


confirmed by Alistair Rowland, chief executive of Blue Bay Travel, who said the relaxation of Foreign Office advice “didn’t create a bounce and still hasn’t”. But he said: “Where we were


There has been a


tangible shift in client confidence since the fuel-shortage headlines faded


washing out [rolling over or changing] hundreds of bookings each month [due to the advice], now we’re not.” Rowland described bookings


as “weighted towards very late” but suggested there is “more confidence” to travel via the UAE this winter. Rebecca Rutter, regional sales


manager at Seaside Travel, which has 13 outlets in the northeast of England, reported “a notable change in customer confidence” with “good booking volumes” last week – 44% for this summer and 38% for next. Advantage Travel Partnership


commercial director John Sullivan also reported “positive growth”, with sales last week up 17% year on year and July


and August departures accounting for 35% of bookings. However, long-haul was “less strong”, he said, “despite the changes to FCDO restrictions”. Triangle Travel managing


director Rob Kenton, who runs six agency branches in Berkshire and Oxfordshire, reported a 45% fall in bookings last week on the previous one, labelling “the combination of the World Cup and the heatwave a temporary distraction”. But he said bookings remain “5% up


year on year”, adding: “There has been a tangible shift in client confidence since the fuel-shortage headlines faded.” He reported late bookings “made up only 10% of sales last week”. The Travel Network Group chief


operating officer Stephanie Slark noted “mixed feedback” from members, but hailed a “generally positive picture”, saying: “While the late-booking market is beginning to soften, forward bookings remain strong.” The Harris Poll UK surveyed 1,006 UK adults on behalf of Travel Weekly.


9 JULY 2026 5


ravel Weekly,


key partners and sponsors included Emirates, Qantas and Hyatt Inclusive Collection, with the finale sponsored by Virgin Atlantic,


PICTURE: Gold Medal


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