Holidays sales on increase

Feb 12 2010 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

TRAVEL giant Thomas Cook has hailed the resilience of the summer holiday as Britons fed up with the wintry weather rushed to book summer breaks.

The group reported a 15% surge in summer 2010 holiday bookings in the past four weeks, with bookings to Turkey and Egypt in high demand.

Thomas Cook credited its TV campaign featuring footballer Jamie Redknapp and his singer wife Louise for helping drive the sales hike.

It said UK average prices for summer breaks were up 2%, while prices for the current winter season had risen 6%.

But the increase in cost has not deterred consumers from seeking some summer sun, despite a slow start for sales in the peak January selling season due to the snow and adverse weather.

Manny Fontenla-Novoa, group chief executive of Thomas Cook, said: “Bookings for the summer 2010 season have improved significantly, marking a positive response to our current marketing campaigns and highlighting the resilience of the summer holiday.”