Not Just Travel records four-fold year-on-year surge in Boxing Day bookings

A third (33%) of all Boxing Day bookings were for summer 2025, as families are eager to lock-in prices and enjoy optimum availability.

The company said it has seen a significant increase in people planning holidays further ahead, with 50% more bookings for holidays more than one year away, compared to this time last year.

More families than ever are taking advantage of the company’s 0% APR Direct Debit option to spread the cost of their family holiday over several months.

A further third (33%) of all Boxing Day bookings were for last minute holidays before April 2025. Cruise sales were around 5% of all bookings and some bookings were made on Christmas Day itself.

Co-founder of Not Just Travel and its recruitment arm, The Travel Franchise, Steve Witt, says: “This Boxing Day knocked previous records out of the park. 66% of all bookings were for traditional package holidays. That’s no surprise given the significant amount of print, broadcast and digital advertising we’re seeing from operators, including those offering free child places. Our travel consultants have excellent, personal relationships with their clients, and this is evident over Boxing Day. People book travel with people and brands they like, know and trust and so it’s natural that they will contact their personal travel consultant on Boxing Day to book their next dream trip.”

Witt continues: “The 9-5 role of a travel consultant is restricted to the high street. Instead, our business model enables travel consultants to fit their full-time or side-hustle business around their lives, as well as the lives of their customers. Not Just Travel is a home-based business made up of such a diverse range of people and cultures. That is why we are disrupting the travel industry and making bookings during more unexpected times. This year we also saw a significant increase in the number of active travel consultants on Boxing Day, with three times as many consultants helping their customers, friends and families during the Christmas period than the previous year. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a surprise that we see bookings happening on Christmas Day and Boxing Day every year. The travel industry is 24/7 and so are we.”

Top destinations for bookings, based on number of bookings are (in order):

• Spain – including Canaries and Balearics
• Greece
• Caribbean
• Cyprus
• Lapland
• US (Florida)
• Egypt
• Ski (multiple destinations)
• UK
• Turkey