A Cheshire travel boss has revealed there’s a massive demand for sunshine holidays with bookings up by 25% on pre-Covid levels.
According to Hays Travel North West managing director Don Bircham, January is the peak period for the industry with families desperate to escape the cold, wet and gloomy weather.
This year the numbers are 25% up on January 2020 – two months before Covid lockdown hit in March that year.
The company has a store in Nantwich and branches in Chester, Macclesfield, Northwich, Runcorn and Widnes, Sandbach and Warrington.
Don, who opened his first travel shop in Mold 22 years ago, said: “The first Saturday of the year is traditionally a big day for us and for the travel business across the country but this has been phenomenal.
“January is one month when there are no holidays for staff and we even suspend our training programme for the month make sure we are fully staffed for our customers.
“We are also seeing many former customers return to us – people who may have been booking on the internet are seeing the benefits in terms of safety and security of booking with a travel agent.
“There is also the protection and expertise a travel agent can bring in terms of knowing about restrictions on travel, passports and visa regulations and, in these days, vaccination requirements.
“We’re part of the biggest independent travel agency in the UK and we’re not going anywhere. We’re very competitively priced for everything down to holiday insurance.
“There has never been a better time to book with low deposits and easy payment plans to spread the cost of the holiday from now up to eight weeks before you go while the big tour operators like Jet 2 Holidays, Easyjet Holidays and Tui are offering big discounts including free child places.”
Don added: “Programmes like The Italian Job do have an effect because you’re sat at home and it’s dark and wet and cold and fighting for the remote control and there’s Sicily, all sunshine, sandy beaches and blue seas.
“This is only the second year since we’ve been let loose again after the pandemic and people understandably want to stretch their wings again and fly off to somewhere sunny and welcoming.
“We’ve had a big marketing campaign, we’ve been on the TV and the radio and we’ve written to all our previous customers.
“Seventy per cent of the holidays we sell are for this summer, some people are already booking for summer 2024 and the rest are early season sunshine holidays, mainly for couples and to places like the Canaries, Dubai and Florida.”
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