For some, it’s been an odd start to 2016. You wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that consumer confidence has been knocked, after the utterly devastating global incidents in 2015 which affected the travelling public. The shootings in Tunisia, the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, the downing of a plane carrying Russian tourists in Egypt, more shootings in Paris towards the end of the year and the European refugee crisis.

The chat coming from the independent agents seems to be exceptionally mixed. Some had record-breaking January sales, petering off in early February, while others have seen consistent sales throughout the first three months.

So is the day of the January peak booking season gone?

Summer holiday sales do seem to have been flowing through the doors much earlier than has been experienced in past years, but clients are tending to stick to better-known European destinations such as Spain, Portugal and Greece. Destinations such as Corsica are also seeing a surge of interest. For the more adventurous family travellers, destinations such as Mauritius and Costa Rica have seen an increase for the summer holidays.

Sadly this does mean that those more troubled areas are not receiving much interest at all.

The recent bombings in Turkey do not bode well for the destination, especially for travel over the next few months, which is sad beyond words.

Our time-rich, retired clients are now more cash-rich with the new pension freedoms that came into force last year. The increase in bookings both short and long-haul from this demographic certainly shows that easier access to their pension money has resulted in more travel.

Despite its recent drop, the strength of the pound still offers good value for travelling Brits. Certainly when eating out and spending in the destination, there will be far greater value for money. While it was announced last year, the abolition of Air Passenger Duty on air fares for under-16s gained much press attention when it came into force in March and was hugely positive again for perception.

One thing that is certain is that while confidence in travel may have taken a knock, it has resulted in travellers wanting security when they travel. We always used to think of this more in terms of financial security, but now it is their physical safety they are concerned with. Customers want to know that they are booking with a trusted and established brand that they can personally speak to, should they feel uncertain when travelling.

So, while geopolitical situations have caused concern, some positive messages on cost savings are still encouraging the hardy British traveller to pick up the phone or visit their local travel agency. And somebody said we were facing extinction – not this year we’re not.