More all-inclusive deals offered
Updated on 17 September 2008
Cash-strapped consumers could be offered more all-inclusive deals on holidays abroad.
Demand for trips where food and drink are included in the package has soared by 30% over the last five years.
Now UK holiday giant First Choice is looking to get more all-inclusive deals into its brochures.
The news came as First Choice and holiday company Thomson published a travel trends report which included an independent survey from Mintel involving more than 2,000 adults.
The survey and the trends report showed travellers in 2009 are expected to flock to countries with favourable exchange rates such as Egypt, Turkey and Croatia. And package holidays made up around 53% of total foreign holidays in the 12 months to June 2008.
According to the report the number of people booking holidays with First Choice and Thomson at the top end of the market rose 20% in the period 2006/07. And an overseas holiday is still high on the wish list of consumers who see a break as a necessity rather than a luxury.
Dermot Blastland, UK and Ireland managing director for Thomson's parent company Tui Travel, said: "I'm frustrated when I hear talk about the death of the package holiday.
"Package holidays are changing very rapidly to deliver greater quality and variety than we've ever been able to offer before and our market is therefore actually stable rather than declining.
"We're firmly of the opinion that more holidaymakers are travelling on packages than current statistics indicate and Mintel also predicts that this figure will continue to grow."
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