Forgetting the recession with some summer sun
THE message from travel agents during a dull February in 1992 was “forget the recession and splash out on a ticket to the sunshine”.
And this was also the message travel agents in the town were receiving from customers as more and more people booked foreign holidays during a “tourism boom”.
No longer was the never-ending recession putting a dampener on people who wanted to get away from it all.
Part of the bookings boom was sparked by a sudden cold snap which saw freezing fog. In return customers dashed to snap up bargains in the sun.
Paul Carter of Trunkfield Travel said bookings for the top end of the market, including long-haul flights and expensive sea cruises, were proving exceptionally popular.
Mr Carter said: “Business has been non-stop. People are booking up holidays and they are not so much the cheaper end of the market but the more expensive end.
“They are spending thousands of pounds, it is phenomenal.
“It has gone crazy. People are prepared to spend £2,500 for a trip to Antigua or £3,500 each for a holiday to Australia.”
Bosses from Albion Travel in Station Street said bookings had soared by 82 per cent. Phil Kirby from the firm said they had seen a major increase in holiday reservations for Cyprus.
And Gay Forrest-elms of Hogg Robinson travel said there had been a last-minute rush for a place in the sun. She said: “People are so fed up with doom and gloom they have decided they are going on holiday anyway.”
Jackie Latham of J & A Travel in High Street said: “A lot of people missed holidays last year because of the Gulf War and now they are looking forward to going away and have ignored the recession.”
Vanessa Andrew of Pickfords Travel said their weekly target for bookings was surpassed in just two days and they had been “packed out” with bookings.