US, Greece and Spain top 'sunshine Saturday' chart for Travel Counsellors
James ChappleTravel Counsellors saw demand return to pre-pandemic levels last week, with the government’s decision to end pre-departure testing on Friday (7 January) fuelling a "sunshine Saturday" sales surge.
The homeworking giant said levels of new enquiries and bookings in the week beginning 3 January were both up more than 200% week-on-week, with enquiries hitting their highest level since the start of the pandemic.
A quarter of all Travel Counsellors’ Easter enquiries are currently for the US, while more than half of all new summer holiday enquiries are for the US, Greece and Spain.
More than a quarter of clients (27%) are looking to travel immediately, said Travel Counsellors, with the UAE, the US, the Maldives and Spain proving most popular among those looking to get away this month or in February.
One in five clients, meanwhile, are seeking to get a trip booked in for the summer, and 13% Easter. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of new bookings were for premium leisure and tailor-made holidays.
The outlook chimes with reports from several independent agents across the UK, who told TTG they experienced bumper weekends for new enquiries and bookings.
“Last week’s positive trading figures were clearly boosted by the announcement of the scrapping of pre-departure tests," said Travel Counsellors’ UK managing director Kirsten Hughes.
"This decision definitely instilled consumer confidence and encouraged people to book that long awaited holiday, which translated into bookings returning to pre-pandemic levels. Sunshine Saturday has undoubtedly made a comeback this year.”
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