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Agents report strong early bookings
ABTA is launching a campaign to encourage holidaymakers to book early.
Starting on Monday (January 20), it will create a hub on its website – www.abta.com/earlybird – with an interactive tool giving information and inspiration on which destinations to visit at different times of the year.
For one week, it is also inviting members to promote early booking offers on Twitter, under the hashtag #ABTAearlybird.
Following weeks of bad weather in the UK, ABTA says its members are reporting strong early bookings for summer 2014, with some companies reporting sales up more than 10% year on year.
"We are cautiously optimistic about holiday bookings in 2014 so it’s very encouraging to see a strong start to the year and we are also pleased that more consumers appear to understand why it’s important to book early," said ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer.
"The travel industry traditionally launches some of its best deals at this time of year and holidaymakers who book early can take advantage of these, as well as getting greater choice and availability. These benefits are even more pronounced for families where availability of child places for the summer months can fill up quickly."
Research carried out at the end of summer 2013, commissioned by ABTA, showed that better deals/cheaper prices is the main motivator for booking early (62%).
Nearly half (49%) of the 2008 people surveyed said they booked in advance for better availability, while better choice (33%) and getting time off work (26%) were also popular reasons.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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