DESTINATIONS HOLIDAYS AT HOME | UK & IRELAND SELLING TIPS


E Be sensitive with the timing of your marketing – plan your promotional activity now but wait until you feel the time is right to push it out to clients on your database.


E Prioritise social media, e-blasts and direct marketing over window displays as lower footfall on high streets means traditional methods will be less effective.


E If you’re rebooking customers’ overseas holidays, highlight to them that you can also book domestic breaks and have offers ready to suggest if they show interest.


CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: The Tower of London; a cobbled street in Alderney; the Shetland Islands; cycling in Guernsey PICTURES: VisitBritain/Historic Royal Palaces, Lee Beel, Alex Zouaghi; Chris George Photography; Shutterstock


still have that overseas experience, with one short flight from regional airports across the UK or ferry travel from Poole and Portsmouth, which makes the journey part of the holiday as travellers move around freely and enjoy the sea air.” The Isles of Scilly offer a similar


home-away vibe, combining long stretches of sandy beaches, stone cottages, charming harbour towns, a reliably balmy climate and the chance for birders to spot migrating species every spring and autumn. “When you’re there, you feel


like you’re much farther away from the UK than you are,” says Debbie Goffin, head of sales and marketing for Premier Holidays. “The Isles of Scilly offer beautiful, uncrowded and unspoilt beaches, history, walking and watersports, and are a great place to get away from it all.” If getting to the south coast is a


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stretch, consider the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales or highlands and islands of Scotland, once restrictions on movement are lifted in all parts of the UK. Lee Hamilton, general sales manager for Prestige Holidays, says: “Destinations that people can reach by car, train or ferry will appeal for a post- lockdown escape, as will lesser- known and more-remote places. Scotland is an obvious choice – keeping your distance from others is relatively straightforward in the highlands. You can cycle along loch edges, search for red squirrels in the forests, or explore one of hundreds of secluded islands and rarely see another person. Autumn can be a great time to travel for wildlife, lack of crowds and fantastic prices.” He also suggests agents think


laterally: “If you have a client that has been on an African safari or a


bear-watching break in Canada, then a short escape to see wildlife in the Cairngorms or on the island of Mull could be a good alternative closer to home.”


TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE CURRENT CLIMATE After months of being cooped up at home, many clients will be keen to get away, but that doesn’t mean they’ll travel as they would have done before the coronavirus crisis, so think about the extra considerations they’ll need to take into account. Many operators are predicting


growth in self-drive holidays and self-catering accommodation, so identify destinations within a half-day’s drive of your area and familiarise yourself with the properties there. Workers may not have the flexibility to take their usual one or two-week summer holiday,


given disruption to many businesses, so consider shorter, flexible durations too. Harold Burke, sales and marketing director for Grand UK Holidays, says short breaks, seaside destinations and festive holidays look set to do well. “Holidays closer to home will be in huge demand once it is deemed safe to travel again,” he says. “Agents need to be ready for a surge in demand and target each market sector with a range of available product for late 2020 – if permissible – and 2021. “There will be a resurgence in seaside holidays and popular venues like Warner Leisure Hotels. Go big on displaying the UK as a destination and sell the benefits of a holiday closer to home – all without undermining the overseas market, which will take longer to recover.”


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