Last month saw the homeworking firm’s biggest booking month post-Covid and second ever most successful month in its 27-year history, with new group bookings of over £71.2m, beating the previous two months combined for both leisure and corporate travel.
According to a customer survey recently carried out by the company, more than a quarter of respondents said they were planning to spend more on their holidays in 2022. Overall spend per booking increased by 13% in January.
Around 80% of those questioned said they would be more likely to book their 2022 holiday through a travel advisor rather than online, with 64% of respondents said the most important factor when considering travel plans is to book with "someone they trust".
The company’s business travel sales have also shown a "continued strong recovery", with around 90% of UK corporate bookings being for immediate travel in February and March. Top selling destinations continue to be for the UK and USA.
Kirsten Hughes, managing director of Travel Counsellors, said the firm is now seeing a "consistent recovery" both in bookings and sales volumes for leisure and corporate travel.
"This is further reinforced by the growing demand from consumers for trusted travel advice and reassurance coming out of the pandemic, highlighted in the feedback from the survey," she added.
More than 20% of bookings are for travel in the next two months, with Spain, UAE and USA being the most popular destinations.
Spain is also the firm’s top-selling destination for Easter travel, despite more complex entry requirements, closely followed by the US.
"It’s been brilliant to see our Travel Counsellors, who have been working so hard to look after their customers during the pandemic, doing what they do best and enjoying the rewards for the care and resilience they have consistently shown to their customers," Hughes added.
"We expect this trend to continue, as customers seek a truly personalised service from someone they can trust and will be there for them every step of the way."
