Late, late deals to beat the FREEZE!
Despite sky-high prices Easter sunseekers are breaking the bank to get away
THE bitterly cold weather is fuelling an Easter exodus with travel agents reporting up to a 10% increase in bookings on last year, the Irish Mail on Sunday has learned.
Despite higher fuel prices and, consequently – bumped up air fares – last-minute holiday makers have snapped up nearly every available seat on some routes over Easter.
And traditionally, sunspots such as the Canaries, Turkey and Florida are proving most popular.
The head of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA), Paul Hackett, said the rotten weather has seen demand ‘really pick up in the last seven to ten days’.
As well as guaranteed sun spots in March such as the Canaries, his online Click & Go agency received a lot of bookings for Majorca, Salou and the Algarve, ‘because that’s where the value is.’
Mr Hackett told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘Easter this year coincides with the start of the airline’s summer schedules, so everywhere is available and there’s been a big uptick in bookings in recent days.
‘Places like mainland Spain and
Portugal mightn’t usually be popular this early in the season, but people are going because it’s cheaper.’
All-inclusive deals are also growing in popularity, says Peter Brazil, the owner of Limerick Travel and a member of the ITAA board.
He told the MoS: ‘All-inclusive deals have never gone away but it’s true to say they’ve never been more popular. All-inclusive is also a big part of the cruise industry, and cruises are also becoming more and more popular with a lot more variety to choose from.
‘Overall, we’ve seen bookings increase by 10% or maybe even more this Easter.’
Sunway Travel CEO Mary Denton confirmed her company has also seen a big increase in bookings year-on-year.
‘There has been a definite increase in bookings for Easter this year, up by 8% on 2023,’ she said. ‘The recent bad weather has made Irish people want to get some sunshine and fun.
‘Spontaneous travellers are booking the Canary Islands, Morocco, Turkey and Malta especially. There are bookings for city breaks but not as much.
‘Morocco is offering great value as is Bodrum and the Costa Brava for Easter. People are happy to pay a little more for the guaranteed sunshine of the Canary Islands. The flexibility to adjust travel dates, destinations, and accommodations can lead to greater deals and savings. Travelling on a Wednesday is cheaper than travelling on a Saturday, for example.’
Ms Denton says all sorts of people are looking for getaway deals.
‘It’s a mix of families, couples and singles travelling – the demand is across the board. Sunway offers deals for “2&2” and they are proving popular.
‘There are lots of bookings in for the weekend of March 23, and also April 1, with people taking advantage of the two bank holiday weekends.
‘Savvy shoppers who are flexible about their destination are picking up great value in places like Bodrum [Turkey] and Portimao {Portugal]. Krakov [Poland] is selling well for Easter too – people love the Easter markets and the processions in the main square, Rynek Główny, as well as the blessing of food baskets for Easter.’
A recent Consumer Spend report in the UK found foreign travel is topping the consumers spending list. And although the CSO has yet to post recent figures, anecdotal evidence from travel agents says Ireland is following a similar pattern.
In particular, the appetite for traditional ‘winter sun’ holiday spots for this time of year remains as strong as ever with the Canary Islands once again leading as the top selling destination.
Peter Brazil said people are paying the higher air fares imposed by the airlines because of pent up demand dating back to the pandemic, and also because ‘when they land, they know they’ll be paying for less for everything from meals to soft drinks to alcoholic drinks’.
He added: ‘The reality is your euro goes a lot further abroad and everything is significantly easier on your pocket.
‘That’s what’s driving the numbers
‘People will pay more for guaranteed sunshine’
‘The weather here shows no sign of improving’
looking to take a holiday out of Ireland. That and pent up demand from Covid.
‘Dublin Airport is now at full capacity, Shannon is doing record numbers, Cork is heading in the right direction and Kerry and Knock airports are strong.
‘The fact that Aer Lingus and Ryanair in particular have introduced a lot of new routes is also driving demand.’
While some lastminute getaway deals are still available, they’re expected to be snapped up quickly as the weather shows no signs of improving. Met Éireann’s long-range forecast is for very cold and unsettled weather to continue up to the end of March, with daytime temperatures struggling to get into double digits and frequent showers.
The weather experts say March will end with low pressure to the northwest generating a predominately northwesterly airflow, bringing above average rainfall across the country – possibly hail at times – along with below average temperature values.