Thomson abolishes single supplements

Monday, 09 Sep, 2004 0

Thomson Holidays is to drop single supplements for lone travellers for a trial period.

The move to get rid of one of the most complained about charges will only apply to solo holidaymakers travelling this month and next.

It will apply to 70 resorts in mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands, Algarve, Canary Islands, Cyprus and Greece.

But the dropping of the supplement will only apply to new bookings with no rebates going to single travellers who have already booked to travel in the two month period.

Hotel rooms are usually based on double occupancy with a single supplement of up to 30% charged for solo holidaymakers.

Thomson claims that more than 25million people – 60% of the population – say they would consider taking a holiday by themselves.

Mintel research released by Thomson shows that single people represented 48% of the population between 2000-2004, with the highest concentration in the under 35 and over 65 age ranges. The highest growth of single people has been within the 25-34 age group, indicating that people are marrying at a later age leaving a significant number of single travellers and busy professionals who either don’t have the time to co-ordinate holiday plans with friends, or find that the single supplements are too restricting, Thomson says.

A Thomson spokesman said: “We believe the idea of no single supplements will be attractive to more than just your typical Bridget Jones Singleton.

“It will allow friends to travel together without having to share a room, make independent travel more attractive and flexible and allow families to invite extra relatives without sacrificing their spending money.

“Ironically, a no single supplement will mena that some people won’t be alone. It also redresses the imbalance of our ‘World for 2’ couple culture. Not everyone wants ‘Buy One Get One Free’.”

Report by Phil Davies

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Phil Davies

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