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Personal Travel Agents see one of its top 10 booking days in a decade
The day after Boris Johnson announced his roadmap out of lockdown was among the top 10 sales days in the nine-year history of Midcounties Co-operative’s homeworking agents.
The 165-strong Personal Travel Agents at Co-operative Travel saw sales soar 293% on 23 February, compared with the same day the week before.
Bookings were also up 317% compared to the same day in 2020, pre-pandemic.
The agency said half the bookings taken on Tuesday were for summer 2021 holidays, two thirds for overseas destinations.
The earliest departure date was 25 May, for a holiday to Lanzarote – just a week after the earliest date by which international travel may resume.
The remaining 50% of bookings were evenly split between winter 2021/22 and summer 2022 departures, the agency said.
Holidays to the Canaries topped the sales list, with Greece, Croatia, Montenegro and Cyprus close behind.
Head of The Personal Travel Agents at Co-operative Travel, Sheena Whittle, said she was surprised at the volume of bookings.
"We expected to see a positive reaction to the government’s roadmap out of lockdown, but not to the degree that we have experienced," she said.
"To see one of our best ever days for sales, after so much strife, has been a very welcomed lift for both motivation and our Personal Travel Agent’s earnings.
"There are still many questions to be answered about travel this year, from the possibility of vaccine passports to quarantine regulations, but the surge we have seen shows many customers are compelled to have something to look forward to after the restrictions of the last year and really want a holiday in their diary."
Whittle said agents are needing to balance the need to take new bookings with looking after those who were due to travel before 17 May.
She added that members are fielding enquiries from customers who have never booked with our agents before.
"They are keen to ensure they have the service and care of a true travel professional to rely on should there be any further changes in the future," Whittle suggested.
"The response to Boris’s announcement has been really positive for us and there is optimism in the air once more. It’s been a great start to the week to see such a shift in consumer confidence."
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