The shift towards late sales was one of several trends identified by Blue Bay during what was a record-breaking month for the business – the busiest in its 20-year history for online sales. Sales in January 2023 surpassed January 2022 by 11%, with 5 January 2023 proving Blue Bay’s single busiest day in its history.

Some 97% of January bookings were for departures in the next 12 months; more than half (53.2%) were for travel in summer 2023, and nearly 30% (28.4%) for getaways in the current 2022/23 winter season. A further 15% were for winter 2023/24, with just 3% for summer 2024 and beyond.

Blue Bay Travel’s most-booked destination was Mauritius, followed by Saint Lucia and then Tobago. Recent addition Greece was fourth, with the Maldives fifth.

Chief executive Alistair Rowland said that while the business went into peaks with concerns about the impact of the cost of living crisis, the business’s performance highlighted renewed consumer confidence in travel.

"Our January 2022 trading was strong. However, with the cost of living crisis a concern for many, no one was sure how it would perform this year," he said.

Rowland said customers appeared to be willing to cut down on most elements of household spending to preserve their holidays, adding low deposits were helping people budget.

"The return of consumer confidence in travel, now that Covid travel restrictions are a relatively distant memory, has also contributed to the rush of sales we’re enjoying so far this year, particularly for summer 2023 holidays but also late bookings for departures in the next two-three months," he added.