Addressing agents at the Jet2holidays conference in Paphos on the eve of Black Friday (29 November), English said Black Friday was driving millions of new travel search queries every year.

"Last year, we saw a 57% increase [in searches] on the year before," English revealed, which follows a 51% year-on-year increase in 2022.

English said the spike was likely to be even bigger this year. "I’ll really be interested to look back on the data we have now next week when I can see what actually comes in for Black Friday.

"What I can tell you is that at the beginning of November, Black Friday queries were already up by 7.3% on last year – and that was the beginning of November. So I think Black Friday is definitely a shift that we didn’t have previously.

"I think what it means for travel is it’s creating another little mini peak this side of Christmas, or this side of actual peaks."

English said it was one of several trends, such as the persistent late market, that tied into consumers’ pursuit of value – "the biggest trend was a shift to value," she continued. "They want more value than ever from their holidays. They’re looking for the best experience that they can have for their price point."

Jet2 director of digital James Malyon used the conference to launch to agents a new conversational search function on Jet2’s trade website, powered by Google’s Vertex AI.

Malyon said the ultimate aim of the new functionality was to help agents find their clients their perfect holiday in a single visit, thus driving up conversions.

"If you can meet the customer’s needs on the first visit, you’ll get that booking every time," said Malyon. It’s going to maximise sales potential and help build the reputation of the agent too."

’Pressure to spend’

English said AI conversational search would go some way towards helping agents navigate consumers’ newfound pursuit of value above all else.

"There is far more information available online than there ever was before," she said. "It’s actually making it harder for people to make a decision and to feel confident with their decision.

"I therefore think there’s a real place for all of you guys to think about this and understand how can you access information with the likes of Jet2’s new search portal.

"Think about how can you best service the customer so when they leave your shop, they’re feeling super confident they’re getting the best value, that they’ve made the right decision and they’re done."

English said Black Friday was also tapping into people’s FOMO – fear of missing out. Specifically, their fear of missing out on a good deal. "I’m sure you all feel you should be buying something on Black Friday," she added. "You feel a bit of pressure to spend."

She also encouraged agents to continue marketing and pushing content out via social media. "When people are looking, they’re not necessarily sure when they’re going to travel or where they want to go, but they are looking for travel content."

Comparing Google search data and YouTube watch data, English revealed that while travel searches tend to peak several times a years – most notably pre-peaks – people typically consume travel content year-round on a fairly consistent basis, and urged agents to tap into this.

"We know that people are online, they are buying holidays at this time of year," she said. "If they’re not buying a holiday, they are still looking. Use your content, use social media to be out there putting out great engaging messages with your clients or with your customer base.

"If they don’t buy now, they will be ready to buy in January."