Travel agents have expressed concern after seeing a drop in air ticket sales for the last three months of 2011.
The Guild of Travel Management Companies said the latest BSP figures for December 2011 show air sales for all agents were down by 3.8%.
Air sales by GTMC members fared slightly better showing a 2.5% decrease.
But although sales slowed in the final quarter, it did not halt the recovery in air travel, with sales and transaction values finishing the year 5% up on 2010.
GTMC chief executive Anne Godfrey said: “The feedback from GTMC members is that the seasonally slower December was a bad month for air sales and the figures look even worse when it is remembered that they are being compared to December 2010, when the snow and ice virtually brought travel to a halt.”
“The whole quarter saw a slow down and reduction in air travel, which may indicate a difficult 2012 ahead.
"The real test will be January sales, which will show if this is just one bad quarter, or a more worrying long-term trend.
"Interestingly, December’s average transaction value has increased significantly amongst GTMC members, showing a 12% increase on the same period last year, which may indicate more expensive long haul air travel is doing better than short haul and domestic.”
by Bev Fearis
