With peaks seemingly back to its busy, stressful, but ultimately fruitful self after the horrors of the pandemic, TTG wanted to find out what has taken the trade by surprise heading into the second half of the decade.
Agents approached February in broadly good spirits, buoyed by strong turn-of-year performance and healthy demand, although the picture was – at times – a little mixed, with one agent likening it to "feast or famine".
At the other end of the spectrum, Travel Counsellors reported record January sales of £138 million, up 11% year-on-year, while Barrhead Travel recorded its “highest ever” trading period for the week ending 19 January.
Several of travel’s main trade-friendly suppliers hailed turn-of-year trading; Gold Medal, for instance, recorded its best sales week since the end of the pandemic, while Scenic Group saw trade sales increase by more than a third year-on-year.
And after recording double-digit growth, G Adventures managing director EMEA Brian Young was unequivocal in his take: "The peaks season for us has been phenomenal," he said.
So what was it that set this year’s peaks period apart from those that have gone before? What’s changed? What trends have emerged? And how do agents feel about the years ahead? TTG set out to find out.
’People have the courage to do something different’
Several agents agreed that after the initial post-pandemic rebound in demand for safe, known, traditional destinations – particularly the beach market – clients were finding the courage to explore the world once again.
“People are probably bored of the safety of a [traditional] package holiday," said Vanessa Good, director of Ayr-based agency Good Travel Company. "They want safaris or rail trips across different countries."
Her views were shared by others, including Polka Dot Travel director Mark Johnson, who said the Shropshire-headquartered agency had seen an increase in long-haul business, including bookings for the Indian Ocean and the US.
Another was Idle Travel’s Tony Mann. “We’ve had some really good revenue coming from long-haul holidays, with New York, Thailand and Canada doing quite well for us," he told TTG. "We’ve noticed a few bookings for Canada and Bali too.”
John Coles, managing director of long-haul specialist Kew Bridge Travel, said demand for the Far East – Asia, Australia and New Zealand – was top of clients’ lists, while Barrhead Travel said it had clocked heightened demand for bucket-list options, particularly touring and adventure options.
"One of the biggest standouts is Japan, both for land and cruise holidays, with bookings up by almost 150% this year so far,” said managing director Nicki Tempest-Mitchell.
“It is a destination in high demand – higher than we’ve ever seen it. Other popular destinations right now for long-haul travel are the US, South Africa and Canada."
The family market is slowly starting to re-emerge
Big, bucket-list bookings to far-flung climes tend to be the preserve of a particular type of client – and they’re not families. The family market has been slower to return to the market, although there are signs the rebound is inching closer.
Beverley Travel director Karl Douglas told TTG the agency was “well down” on the family market, while Tony Mann said the segment was “a bit slow” in January. “It’s not that the family market is not present,” added Good. “It’s just that we usually have seen more family bookings by now – they’re trickling in.”
The agents TTG spoke to put the lag down to the current economic environment; and while recent research has continued to highlight how travel appears still to be people’s top discretionary spending priority, year-on-year price increases have clashed with ongoing cost of living considerations.
"People booking packages have been surprised by the increase in prices,” explained Not Just Travel’s Simon Evans. “People who booked their holidays 12 months ago have been quite shocked. Both Spain and Turkey have become really expensive, pricing out some repeat customers.”
Not everyone saw a slump in the family market; Now Lets Travel’s Donna Tweddell said the agency hadn’t been short of family bookings, while Travel Counsellor Denise McKenzie told TTG the majority of her clients were families.
New data from the Advantage Travel Partnership offers some further insight, and paints a more positive picture, with one-in-four (25%) of its members’ bookings so far this year featuring at least one child, up from 21% at the same stage last year.
Bookings with Advantage members for Easter are up 15% year-on-year too, albeit potentially at the expense of summer breaks. "In 2024, the family market was slower for summer holiday bookings, and the same appears to be the case for summer holiday bookings this year, suggesting there is a growing trend of families looking to get away during other times of the year, particularly during the Easter break, to secure better deals," said the consortium.
It added it had seen a 5% shift from short-haul holidays to long-haul bookings for the summer. "Two weeks staying in a four-star self-catering property in the Balearics in August for four people is £4,500," said Advantage.
"You could get a similar holiday in Thailand for the same price, while the cost of living when you are there is significantly lower."
It’s competitive, but suppliers are being supportive
Despite the clamour for sales, whether they be through the trade or direct, none of the agents TTG spoke to highlighted any particular concerns about anti-competitive practices by suppliers or rivals, such as undercutting.
Both Good and McKenzie said they continued to maintain close working relationships with key operators, while Mann said suppliers were launching targeted marketing campaigns to stimulate specific market segments that appear to need it, such as families.
"It’s nothing out of the ordinary – tour operators haven’t undercut us, as such,” he said. “They have run a lot of different campaigns this month [February] to stimulate the market, and I think it has worked.”
Johnson agreed. "It’s competitive as everybody’s at the forefront – travel agents and tour operators alike – so you’ve got to be proactive, you’ve got to be on the front foot to make sure you get your fair share," he said.
These views come in contrast to the findings of TTG’s turn-of-year Insight Report; nearly two-thirds of the more than 130 respondents ranked "supplier pricing" as one of their top three concerns.
"What other industry has suppliers as main competitors?" said one agent, while another said having to explain a lack of price parity to clients was wearing thin. "[They] feel like we [agents] are trying to be dishonest."
How has your peaks been? Does this take on the market resonate for you? What trends have you spotted over the past few weeks and months? Let us know in the comments below, or email feedback@ttgmedia.com with your thoughts.
