TRAVEL companies in Scotland are expecting a surge in bookings this weekend after reporting a bumper year in 2023.
The most popular destinations currently being booked by Scottish holidaymakers for the year ahead are Tenerife, Turkey, Mallorca, Lanzarote and Florida, according to Jacqueline Dobson, president of Barrhead Travel.
She told the Sunday National: “It is clear that people are continuing to prioritise holiday spend during 2024. Our stores have been extremely busy so far this year and we’re expecting high footfall across our network this weekend.”
Yesterday was the first Saturday of January, which is informally known as Sunshine Saturday by the travel industry as it’s typically the most popular day of the year for holiday bookings.
Barrhead Travel, one of the UK’s leading travel agents, celebrated its “best-ever” trading year in 2023 as demand for travel continued to soar despite the climate and cost of living crises.
The Glasgow-headquartered travel agency group celebrated 12 consecutive record-breaking months with bookings up by 26% compared with sales in 2019, which was previously the company’s best trading year.
All-inclusive holidays are so far the most popular type of holidays for summer 2024, accounting for more than 25% of bookings so far. There is also a noticeable growth in cruising, particularly among families and couples.
Barrhead Travel director Nicki Tempest-Mitchell said January was one of the best times of year to book as many operators, hotels and airlines had “fantastic” sales.
“We’re seeing signs that people will continue to prioritise holidays this year,” she added. “Longer durations and more upgrades are a common theme at the moment, while multi-generational breaks continue to make up a notable portion of our bookings.
“The desire to book with a travel agent increased during 2023 and that trend is set to grow this year.”
At TUI UK and Ireland, the most popular destinations for 2024 so far are Greece, Turkey, and the Balearics. Commercial director Phillip Iveson said the company was expecting their turn-of-year sales to be stronger than January 2022 as well as January 2020, before the pandemic struck.
“For years, we have seen huge demand post-Christmas to search for and book a holiday, and we expect this January to be no different,” he said. “We know that people are keen to look for their future travel plans at this time – appetite for travel has never been greater.
“With more destinations on offer than ever before and flying out of 22 regional airports, we look forward to welcoming new and existing customers on their holidays this year.”
However, the domestic travel sector may lose out as people cut back their spending, according to new research.
The study by audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK suggests families will shun staycations in 2024, with fewer organising city breaks or domestic holidays in favour of holidays abroad.
Their survey of 1000 consumers showed that less than a third (28%) of families are planning a UK city break and only 27% plan a longer domestic trip this year, down from 40% and 35% respectively last year. Those planning a foreign holiday were the largest group (33%).
“The cost of living, plus the astronomical price hikes during school holidays are proving too much for many UK families to consider planning a holiday this year – if they do, it will be to seek out some sunshine,” predicted RSM UK head of travel Chris Tate.
