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Greece, Spain, Italy – these are some of the holiday hotspots favourited by millions of Brits every year. But have these countries fallen victim to their own success – and are they now too popular for their own good?
Bali is equally as interesting as Thailand, Diane Coleman told TTG (Credit: kienhau/Pixabay)
TTG challenged agents up and down the country to think about the most requested destinations, and put forward an alternative to suggest to their clients.
Here’s what they had to say…
Which destinations do you often switch sell? Tell us your thoughts in the comment box below.
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“Prices for Greece holidays have increased a lot so people are now looking for alternatives – I’d suggest Cyprus as it has remained quite price-competitive year-on-year. If people want something a little bit different from Italy and Greece, then Montenegro has almost the same charm of some Italian towns and the lovely waters of Greece. It’s about putting a destination people might not be so aware of into their minds.”
“One place that a lot of people ask for is Santorini as people see it on Instagram – it looks amazing with its idyllic sunsets. When they get there however, they have to queue for an hour and a half to get the funicular to the top of the mountain and there are a lot of cruise ships coming in.
“We try to persuade them to consider somewhere slightly bigger like Rhodes or Crete or even somewhere smaller such as Corfu, Paxos or Skiathos.
“We also suggest the northern parts of Croatia such as Pula and the Istrian coastline – especially when customers want to go to more crowded places like Dubrovnik.”
“Barbados is very popular with the Brits but I tend to offer Saint Lucia if customers want more of a Caribbean feel. I know they’re in the same area of the Caribbean but I think Saint Lucia has slightly better-quality properties available and a more authentic vibe.”
“New York is notoriously rammed with tourists, leading to really high prices and queues everywhere. But Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania can tick all the same boxes for what someone might look for in New York: you’ve got amazing river cruises and excellent family attractions. It’s also perfect for sports enthusiasts and it has a trendy food and craft beer scene.
“Having been to both, I think Pittsburgh is a great alternative. You can fly with British Airways direct into Pittsburgh and that’s the only international flight that goes into that terminal so you can get straight to your hotel really quickly, whereas New York airports are pretty hectic by comparison.”
“Thailand is the one destination most people ask for [when planning a trip to Asia] but Bali has got just as much variety and it’s equally as interesting. Vietnam is another great alternative to Thailand as the beaches there are very nice.
“In the US, I recommend Santa Barbara to people looking at San Diego or San Francisco while if customers are looking for a music scene and are only thinking of Memphis, we suggest they try out Nashville instead.”
“The most popular switch sell I do is when people come in asking for Iceland but they’re on a budget. In these instances we generally switch sell them to a Transun Lapland trip, as they are all-inclusive. We ask customers what it is they want from their trip, and if it’s the Northern Lights then Lapland is a great alternative as it’s much further north and the whole experience is more authentic.”
“Europe has become so expensive that we have switch sold a lot to Thailand because there are some amazing prices. Believe it or not, another place we’ve switch sold to in the summer holidays is Mauritius, as some of the nice five-star hotels and resorts in Europe are more expensive than going to the Indian Ocean.
“Customers also get a much more ‘far-and-away glamour destination’ than what they were getting in Europe, especially because sometimes people think they cannot afford to go to these places but when we tell them it’s doable, they’re very happy.”
“For us it’s usually honeymooners that we switch sell. They have this wonderful idea of going to the likes of French Polynesia but they haven’t considered airfare or accommodation costs. They usually end up going to Mauritius or the Caribbean because they haven’t given a thought as to what the cost implications are, they just see these lovely pictures and think they can afford to go there for about £1,500/£2,000 per person. They haven’t realised they can’t even get the airfare for that sort of money.
“The other day I had a couple wanting to go to the Seychelles. They wanted to go diving but they hadn’t really given a thought to pricing and didn’t realise it was going to cost them the best part of £12,000. They ended up going to Sardinia instead. That’s a bit of a difference, but sometimes people have these wonderful ideas that don’t quite work out.”
“Portugal is a great alternative to Spain. Lots of people haven’t been to Portugal before and don’t really understand Portugal and the Algarve and what they have to offer. For instance, people have a perception that Madeira is a bit quiet and just for old people in the winter but actually it has an awful lot to offer for families and couples.”
“You can switch sell between European destinations: for example, Greece is often better value for money than the Balearic Islands. Whereas Menorca, Majorca and Ibiza are usually more expensive than the Greek islands, where there’s a lot of product and therefore better prices.”
