Well it’s the end of the year!! Time for the traditional look back on the year and find out what’s been happening for holidays in 2012!

People are still going on sun holidays from Ireland but not in the same numbers as in 2007 or 2008. The number of sun holidays sold by Charter Tour Operators (Thomas Cook, Sunworld, Panorama, Falcon..)  is down from 1 million in 2007 to only 300,000 in 2011 as most holidaymakers are now travelling to the sun on scheduled airlines like Aer Lingus and booking online with the likes of ClickandGo.com.

Aer Lingus and Ryanair both have an extensive network of flights to all the main sun destinations and as all scheduled airlines have increased their capacity on the sun holiday routes, charter flights have declined.

The main highlights from 2011 in terms of the travel industry have been the mass decline of the ski holiday business, the fall off in the “last minute holiday” market and even more consolidation amongst the charter tour operators.

Ski holidays in decline…

Inghams, the ski operator pulled out of the Irish market in 2010, leaving Crystal and Topflight in the market. Even with the ski market reduced to just 2 main players, word is they are both struggling to fill flights for 2012 and the late arrival of snow in the resorts didn’t help matters. It appears we view ski holidays as an expensive luxury not just because of the cost of buying the holiday but also the costs in resort of hiring boots, paying for lessons and buying a ski pass.

Major problems for Charter Tour Operators…

Thomas Cook have had a very rough year, loosing their CEO Manny Fontonela-Novoa in the summer and then loosing 92% of it’s share value down from 192p last December to just 16p this December before putting in place a refinancing which has seen their debt burden rise to over £1 billion.

In Ireland Thomas Cook traded under the Sunworld and Panorama brands, both really well known brands amongst Irish consumers. Sunworld was very strong in Portugal and Turkey and had an excellent product range. Panorama was a value brand and it too had a loyal following. Both of these brands will disappear in 2012 and Thomas Cook will market itself in Ireland as Thomas Cook Holidays. It’s hard to justify the costs of these brands when the charter market from Ireland has shrunk so much.

Thomas Cook have also started a period of consultation with staff in Ireland as part of a cost cutting programme and we wish the staff in Ireland and the brand Thomas Cook well, it is after all the longest established brand in the travel industry.

The “last minute holiday” is no longer last minute…

The late booking market has decreased dramatically in 2011. This is because if we’re going on holidays now, we plan for it and we don’t just decide at the last minute. Holidays are no longer an impulse purchase, we budget for them.

If we can afford to go on a sun holiday from Ireland and we want to be sure its the best value sun holiday or city break we can get. People are now booking 9 to 10 weeks in advance of travel. To be honest that means people are actually buying cheaper holidays.

Given over two thirds of all people are travelling on scheduled airlines (Ryanair or Aer Lingus), the earlier they book the more they save!  All scheduled airlines increase their fares closer to departure.

The Facts & Figures for 2011…

  • The average holiday (flights, transfers and accommodation) in 2011 cost €432 per person, down 8% on 2010 which was €465 per person
  • There were 2.4 people travelling per holiday booking, same as 2010
  • Holidays are being booked nine and half weeks in advance, up from seven weeks in 2010 – booking sun holidays further in advance
  • People are spending 7.3 nights abroad, which is down from an average of 9 nights 2 years ago
  • Most people are opting for accommodation in the 3 to 4 star category, same as 2010
  • Cheapest day of the week to fly is Tuesday – you can save €40 to €50 person over a weekend flight

Top 3 sun holiday destinations sold in 2011:      

Our love affair with the Canaries continues!! It’s a combination of year round sunshine and great value. Winter is the more expensive time to visit and the Canary Islands have benefited from the trouble earlier in the year in Tunisia and Egypt.

Top 3 city break destinations sold in 2011:

Not surprisingly Krakow, Budapest and Berlin are top of our charts for the cities in 2011, again down to value and reasons to visit. Xmas festive markets in these cities drive visitor numbers and all 3 offer great value in hotels compared to the traditional favourites of Paris or Amsterdam.

If you’ve any comments we’d love to hear them so feel free to contact us.