HOLIDAY TRENDS 2009

Research carried out in November by Thomson and First Choice ¹, illustrates that Brits no longer consider their summer holidays a luxury, but a necessity, with 88% of those surveyed willing to cutback in other areas rather than forego their annual holiday.

With Britain experiencing the coolest start to winter in over 30 years², thoughts are now turning to sunnier climes and as we gear up towards January and the traditional peak booking period, Thomson and First Choice Customer Director Tim Williamson, answers some questions regarding travel in 2009.

Why are holidays being seen as necessity rather than luxury? How has this trend occurred?

We have some of the longest working hours in Europe - the harder people work, the greater the need to get away from it all, not just to recharge the batteries, but also to spend quality time with their families.

What does this research mean for the holiday industry?

As parent-company TUI's recent results show, the merged company has performed well in its first year of operation. Although we can't comment on behalf of the entire industry, from our perspective, customers indicate that they still want to go away. In addition, and in light of the demise of XL and Zoom, more and more customers are aware of the value of going on holiday with a financially robust company such as Thomson or First Choice, where holidays are protected under the Government backed ATOL scheme.

What kind of holidays will Brits be looking for in 2009?

For both Thomson and First Choice we’re expecting the top short haul destinations for summer 2009 holidays to be the Balearics, Mainland Spain, the Algarve, Italy and Madeira. For mid haul, Greece, the Canaries, Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt look set to top the list and further afield Mexico, Florida, Dominican Republic and Cuba.

This should be encouraging news for property owners looking to rent properties in 2009. If you have a property to rent in 2009, why not look at the services of Ideias Silenciosas Lda part of the APLNET Group who offer a pay-by-use service for their clients.