Of the 660 Atol licences that expired on 31 March, 522 have been renewed, with a further 17 still in the application process or yet to meet licence conditions.
Michael Budge, head of Atol, said: "Companies renewing their licence in March have revealed they anticipate passenger demand will continue to grow over the next 12 months and our latest figures seem to indicate that the travel sector is slowly moving in the right direction again.”
However, he cautioned: "Household budgets will continue to feel the squeeze in the coming months, which means it is more important than ever for consumers to protect their package holiday by booking with an Atol licensed tour operator.”
There are now 1,619 Atol holders, with Jet2holidays, Tui, loveholidays, On the Beach and Booking.com the current top five.
