Tourists hold out for holiday bargains

Travellers are reluctant to book ahead for holidays

Travel agents have confirmed that bargain holidays are plentiful as tourists hold back on making long-term plans.

Few holidays for 2002 are being booked while travellers opt instead for last-minute decisions.

Nobody is booking for holidays beyond Christmas. People are making their holiday decisions at the last minut

Nigel Wright
Cosmos MD

The pattern emerged as travel operators discussed the effects of the 11 September terror attacks at their annual industry convention in Lisbon, Portugal.

The industry is having to make contingency plans to revive the travel market, the Association of British Travel Agents meeting was told.

"Nobody is booking for holidays beyond Christmas. People are making their holiday decisions at the last minute," said Nigel Wright, managing director of holiday company Cosmos.

Bookings for trips over the next few weeks are beginning to improve, but few holidays for 2002 have been taken up.

Anyone booking holidays now would get a good deal, said Andrew Windsor, managing director of distribution businesses for the Thomas Cook travel company.

"We plan to stimulate the market and try to build consumer confidence," he said.

Bookings to Egypt are down

But Abta chief executive Ian Reynolds said price levels at present were "unsustainable for the industry in the short-term" and could not continue for long.

Bookings to the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt and the US were down and could be expected to stay depressed, said Mr Windsor.

By contrast, holidays to the western Mediterranean were holding up well, he said.

He added that Thomas Cook would be reducing the number of holidays it sold next year by around 15%.

Yet bookings last week were up on the same week last year and the number of cancellations has fallen, he said.

The downturn in UK tourist industry is expected to continue into 2003, according to new figures.

A study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research says Britain is likely to receive 10% less foreign visitors this year than in 2000.