Travel firm says holiday bookings are 30 per cent up with multi-generations trips more popular than ever
Multi-generation family holidays and Hollywood A-lister Russell Crowe are helping fuel a record boom in sales in Shropshire.
Hays Travel North West, which has branches in Oswestry and Shrewsbury, have reported that sales are up 30 per cent as sun-starved holidaymakers jet off around the world.
Turkey is now their number one Mediterranean destination after Gladiator star Russell Crowe took to Twitter to sing its praises.
And many of the holidays being sold by Hays Travel North West’s shops are bucket list trips to exotic and luxury destinations as granny and grandad dip into their savings to treat their families.
Don Bircham, Managing Director of Hays Travel North West, said: “One couple have spent over £40,000 to take the whole family away and we’ve had a number of sales worth £25,000-plus.
“These high value bookings to quality destinations are often being funded by grandparents who want to share a holiday with their sons and daughters and their children.
“They’re still fit and healthy and probably thinking they’d rather spend it on a once-in-a-lifetime experience they can enjoy together with their whole family than possibly seeing it go on care home fees in a few years time.
“Luxury holidays in Florida are one of the most popular along with destinations like the Maldives, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand and on the longer haul flights many are upgrading from economy to business class.
“But the whole industry is really taking off again. People have had to stay at home for the last two years because of the pandemic and now they’re keen to travel again.
“This August was phenomenally busy with all the usual hotspots in high demand but the most popular this year has been Turkey which has so much to offer beyond a beach holiday and where the Turkish lira offers such fantastic value as well.”
He said delays caused by a shortage of baggage-handling staff at airports have been mainly resolved.
“Airports have been able to recruit and any shortages have largely been resolved now and our customers, the majority of whom fly from Manchester, are reporting few issues.
“Liverpool John Lennon Airport has in fact been a shining star among airports with very little disruption or inconvenience for customers.
“We’re expecting it to stay busy through September and October when couples like to go away and then we’re expecting another boom in January when the cold weather and long dark nights get people thinking about sunshine again.”
