Staycations are history. This year what customers want is a Savecation, or so says Thomas Cook.
Chief executive mainstream Ian Ailles said the travel company’s annual customer survey revealed that 33% of Britons will make a foreign holiday a priority this year – 1% more than last year – but one in five people said they would spend less.
"They probably had a staycation last year, it probably rained, and this year they are saying they need a foreign holiday," said Ailles. "People will need to budget more carefully in order to afford a holiday, they are shopping around to make sure they get the best deal, but the good news for us and for the industry is that a holiday has moved back up to being the number one priority."
Only 17% of customers said they planned to take a UK holiday in 2012, 1% fewer than last year, and Thomas cook – currently offering up to £400 off holidays – is trying to push the message that it’s actually cheaper to go abroad than stay at home, claiming that a family of four could save £263 holidaying in Majorca rather than Devon.
Claiming that UK holiday costs are the highest in Europe, Thomas Cook said a week in Devon would cost £573 per person compared to £509 in Spain, the cheapest and most popular foreign destination.
Greece is also expected to enjoy renewed popularity this year and Ailles said Turkey and Italy were also doing well while Tunisia is bouncing back. Egypt, however, is continuing to struggle, partly due to the Arab Spring but also due to the discrepencies in air passenger duty, which means a family of four pays £200 more to fly to Egypt than to Turkey.
Ailles said Thomas Cook sales were in line with expectations and insisted customers had not been put off by the company’s widely-publicised financial difficulties at the back end of last year.
"Customers aren’t interested in our debt-equity ratio," he said, "they want the right holiday at the right price." Thomas Cook has recently introduced price scanning which shows, he said, that it is consistently cheaper than its rivals on 60% of comparable holidays.
Only 3% of customers said they wouldn’t be taking a holiday due to the London 2012 Olympics. Thomas Cook, the preferred tour operating partner for the Games, has 40% of its Olympic capacity left to sell and is planning a big push next month to spread the word that it still has event tickets and accommodation available.
By Linsey McNeill
