Advantage Travel Partnership have reported an “encouraging growth in bookings over the past week” since the government’s list of quarantine exempt destinations was revealed.
Kelly Cookes, Leisure Director at Advantage Travel Partnership said: “Following the UK Government’s announcement of quarantine exempt destinations, we have seen some an encouraging growth in bookings over the past week. Last week (6th – 12th July) sales were up 60% compared to the previous week and of the total passengers booked last week, 37% were for 2020 departures compared to 27% two weeks ago. This demonstrates that after a long period of being in lockdown, there is a desire to travel overseas this year.
“Of the total sales made last week for departure dates in 2020, 39% of these were for the school summer holidays, showing travellers and particularly families are eager to get away sooner rather than later, even at such short notice. For 2021, the average sales value on all new bookings is £810 per person, compared to £548 per person for 2020 departures. This isn’t entirely unexpected as late bookings are often cheaper, however we have seen the prices for 2020 departures drop over the past two weeks (from £626pp), which shows there is an effort from tour operators to stimulate the market.
“Looking at weekend sales in isolation, this weekend was by far the best we have seen in recent months, with an increase of 226% this Saturday and Sunday (11th/12th) versus last weekend (4th/5th). In terms of destinations being booked, Spain is dominating, with seven out of the top ten volume driving regions being booked last week were in Spain.”
