Advantage Travel Partnership revealed that bookings were up by 5% and revenue by a whopping 37% between 26 December and 2 January compared with the same week a year ago.
The consortium expects this momentum to continue over the coming weekend with so-called “Sunshine Saturday”, usually the most popular day of the year for UK consumers to book an overseas break.
Julia Lo Bue-Said, Advantage’s chief executive, said: “With demand for travel showing no signs of slowing down this year, we are anticipating an incredibly busy Sunshine Saturday for travel agents whether it’s online, on the phone or on the local high streets.
“Despite the continued cost of living crisis, we are still seeing that holidays remain a priority for many and given the current poor weather across the UK, we are seeing Brits booking much-needed getaways and giving themselves something to look forward to.”
Advantage’s figures show that summer 2024 has been the most popular departure time for these bookings with a 43% share. But there is also strong demand for late bookings with 28% of sales for departures within 12 weeks.
The most popular destination so far has been the winter-sun favourite of the Canary Islands with a 13% share, followed by mainland Spain (7% of all bookings).
Long haul also continues to see a renaissance in sales, accounting for 24% of all last week’s bookings, with the US leading the way through the popularity of cities such as New York and Orlando.
City breaks – particularly to Paris, Reykjavik and Rome – have also been performing well with 12% of bookings. Meanwhile, cruise accounted for 8% of Advantage’s total sales with the majority (52%) for sailings this summer.
Average length of stay was 9.5 nights with all-inclusive resorts being the most popular board basis with 42% of all bookings, as customers look to “lock in” the price of their holiday before prices go up.
But there was less good news for the domestic holiday sector with research from consulting firm RSM showing that fewer UK families are planning a staycation in 2024.
The survey of 1,000 consumers found that only 28% of British families were intending to go on a break to a UK city this year – down from 40% in 2023. The number planning a longer domestic holiday also fell from 35% last year to 27% in 2024.
