NEWS
ARCTIC ADVENTURES: Clia hosted 70 delegates, including 46 agents, at its inaugural Expedition Showcase in Svalbard. Alongside conference sessions, the event offered attendees the chance to visit six ships and take part in excursions including a mountain fossil hike and a boat trip. The six ships available for visits were AE Expeditions’ Sylvia Earle, Swan Hellenic’s SH Diana, Albatros Expeditions’ Ocean Albatros, Ponant’s Le Lyrial, Quark Expeditions’ Ocean Explorer and Atlas Ocean Voyages’ World Voyager. Clia UK and Ireland managing director Andy Harmer said the event had sold out within two days and that delegate capacity had been increased from 50 to 70. From left: Kelly Uniacke, InteleTravel; Evie Gibson, Hays Travel; and Kate Austin and Claire Haslehurst, both Six Star Cruises. i Special Report, page 12
Offers drive ultra-late sales but suppliers keen to avoid price war
Juliet Dennis
Last-minute offers from major operators to shift excess summer stock are fuelling ultra-late sales but a desire to avoid ‘giveaway’ prices is resulting in more shorter- duration and shoulder season bookings, according to the trade. Free child places and
discounted breaks and flights for August have been advertised across TV, radio and online in the past week by operators including Jet2holidays, easyJet holidays and Tui. Agents said strong “late late” sales
sold a lot of late lates, including families. We think it will continue into September and October.” Idle Travel managing director
Tony Mann said: “We’ve had a lot of odd durations of three, four and five nights or 10 to 12 nights; people want to get as much as they can out of the budget they’ve got.” The Travel Network
STORY TOP
Group commercial director Katharina Peck said 45% of last week’s bookings were for August, but 30% were for September. Peck noted average booking values
were being generated via social media promotions driven by operator deals. Seaside Travel head of operations
Paula Gleeson said: “Operators must have a lot to sell because the likes of Jet2holidays, Classic and Tui are pushing discounts and asking us to advertise them on social media.” She added: “Last week we
travelweekly.co.uk
“remained high”, with “more customers holding back or shopping around due to price sensitivity”. Althams Travel managing director
Sandra McAllister also noted fluctuating sales, adding: “The lates market is extremely competitive, with bookings made very last-minute.” Barrhead Travel managing director
Nicki Tempest-Mitchell pointed to changeable weather in the last
week and “great deals” as driving families to book last-minute breaks. Suzanne Cumpston, sales
and commercial manager at Sam Smith Travel, said the agency was successfully switch-selling clients from short-haul to long-haul destinations for summer such as Mauritius, Tanzania and Bali, due to comparable prices and slightly lower temperatures. Paul Hardwick, retail director at
Fred Olsen Travel, reported a “fair proportion” of late sales for August but said “the majority” of current sales were for September onwards as a result of “really good” prices. Mainstream operators would
not comment on excess capacity but cited healthy lates demand. A Jet2holidays spokesman
said: “Data shows there are lots of customers looking to book a last-minute holiday, and we’ve been working very hard to ensure agency partners capitalise on that.” Classic Collection head of
trade distribution Jorge Quibell
noted a “clear shift” to shorter durations, particularly for Turkey and Spain, with customers “increasingly mindful of spend”. Specialists called lates demand
“patchy”, with a recent sales pick-up due to weather changes and availability. Sunvil managing director Chris Wright said August self-catering prices were “lower than for a long time” and cited drops in all-inclusive prices. He added: “There is definitely more capacity available than we’ve seen for the last few years.” Alan Bowen, legal advisor to the
Association of Atol Companies, said: “Operators are spending a fortune on marketing. It’s not quite the wonderful season everyone thought it would be. It indicates all big operators have got quite a bit left to sell.” But he ruled out further price
drops, saying: “It is clear no one wants a price war; nobody gains from that. Prices are not ‘giveaway’ but are considerably lower than [operators] would be hoping for at this time.”
31 JULY 2025 5
PICTURE: Steve Dunlop
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
