Holiday business taking off again

Don Bircham, the managing director of Hays Travel (North West) which has almost 50 branches across the region, said the changes announced by the UK government had opened the floodgates to meet the pent up demand for summer holidays in the sun.

The company has stores in Oswestry and Shrewsbury.

Popular destinations included Greece, Turkey, Spain, the Balearic and the Canary islands along with Florida. There was also a spike in demand for cruises.

Mr Bircham said the easing on restrictions on foreign travel was the best news the industry had had in a long time.

It had also provided a massive boost for families desperate to escape the long haul of the pandemic and given them the confidence to think about travelling abroad again.

“The first part of January was very slow but there has been a massive surge in bookings after the news from the UK Government that travel restrictions were being eased.

“The fact that you only need a lateral flow test on return rather than a pre departure test and a PCR on return has given customers the confidence to fly again.

“In normal times this is our busiest period because of the January blues after Christmas so the next fix is to get that summer holiday book and have something to look forward to.

“With the announcement about the easing of the testing rules, we’re really optimistic that there are better times ahead.

“It’s given people a lot more confidence to start booking their holidays and thing are really taking off.

“There is a huge pent up demand from people who are fed up to the back teeth and desperate for a break somewhere warm.

“We have all sorts of initiatives in place, including a Piece of Mind Guarantee which means you can amend and alter your holiday free of charge.

“Selected tour operators are also doing that and, if you combine that with taking out insurance, it takes out the risk factor.

“We’re confident now we’re getting back to something like normality and, if there is a bump in the road with certain countries, we have some guarantees and some comfort that we can take care of it and offer alternative destinations.

“There are lots of people wanting to tick off things on their bucket list because so many people have re-evaluated their lives as a consequence of the pandemic. “ “People have been thinking long and hard about what life is all about and there’s a lot of grandparents who’ve got a few quid in the bank who want to take the kids and the grandchildren away on an expensive, dream family holiday.