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Sport and celebrity to drive ’06 holidays
ABTA Convention special report: The public’s appetite for celebrity and sport will drive holiday taking trends in 2006, according to Thomson.
The operator has pinpointed Corsica as becoming one of the top beach destinations and is introducting charter flights to the French island.
Sales and marketing director Miles Morgan suggested Corsica would be the place for celebrity spotters next summer.
Meanwhile, major sporting events such as the World Cup in Germany the Ashes cricket series in Western Australia and the Americas Cup yacht race in Valencia will increase interest in the host destinations.
Thomson also predicted an upswing in demand for Sri Lanka and Thailand due to recovery from the tsunami disaster.
Other destinations tipped by Thomson for 2006 are Calabria and the Tuscany coast of Italy, Slovenia and Montenegro, Colorado for skiing and Salzburg for the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth.
Meanwhile, Thomas Cook has pinpointed Croatia – returning to levels of popularity unparalled since the 1980s – Bulgaria, North Africa and Ibiza as its hot short haul destinations for next year, with Cuba, Jamaica, Brazil and Goa leading long haul growth. Future trendsetters beyond 2006 are seen as Dubai and Las Vegas.
The company identified an escalating trend towards taking multiple, shorter holidays – 47% of summer 2005 packages were for seven nights, while 14-night bookings made up 43%. This was against 48% for 14 nights and 42% for seven nights in 2003.
Report by Phil Davies
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