Claire Moore, managing director of Peakes Travel Elite, said February was the Shropshire independent’s best trading month for two years.
Similarly, Maryna Shcherbakova from London-based Travel Matters reported February sales running two to three times in excess of February 2021 and February 2020, with sales up even on February 2019.
Meanwhile, Hannah Porter, owner of Marlborough’s Travel By Hannah, said the team had their biggest Friday in terms of sales since March 2020 last Friday (25 February).
Beach and winter-sun holidays proved most sought-after, with popular destinations including the Caribbean and the Middle East – as well as winter-sun favourites such as Sri Lanka and Mauritius.
Porter and Shcherbakova both said their agencies were predominantly seeing business from families, including young couples with children and multigenerational groups.
The three agents reported mixed reactions from customers on the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Moore revealing one couple booked on a cruise with a stop in Russia had just completed their payments “no questions asked”.
Porter said it had been “a really positive start to 2022”, and one that was "much deserved" after two tough years and the slow start to the year in December and January.
“Since then, we have been overwhelmed with the demand and so pleased to be seeing improvements on 2020 statistics to start the year returning to higher than predicted growth levels for business," said Porter. "I remain optimistic the demand for travel is [there] more than ever – the value of agents is an opportunity to be showcased.
“We’re aiming to keep improving month-on-month throughout this year and have lots of happy travelling customers again.”
