‘Flocktober’ here we come

Tour operators anticipate an endless summer as autumn holiday bookings surge, reports Greg Dickinson

Thomas Cook is predicting an “endless summer”, after a surge of holiday bookings for October 2021 and beyond. The tour operator, which ceased operations in 2019 but has now relaunched as an online bookings site, says it has seen a dramatic shift in booking patterns, with customers moving from booking holidays in May to banking on breaks from October onwards. More than 40 per cent of bookings in the last week were for holidays during or after October 2021.

The top destinations are the Canary Islands, Turkey, Greece and Egypt, with interest in city breaks to places like Las Vegas and New York City.

Phil Gardner, commercial director at Thomas Cook, said: “The recent messages from Government seem to be prompting people to book later in the year, we think Britons are increasingly focusing on ‘Flocktober’ as they look ahead to a much-needed holiday.

“Based on our current booking numbers, Britons are clearly keen to get away this year even if it means waiting until the autumn or later.

“We’re as keen as ever to head to the favourites of the Canaries, Greece and Turkey to catch rays. But we’re also hankering for a return to the States with trips to New York particularly popular as well as breaks to Vegas.”

Other tour operators are preparing for the high season to be nudged back into autumn. Paul Melhus, CEO and founder of ToursByLocals, tells Telegraph Travel: “With vaccinations and testing in place, we’re anticipating a potential surge in private tour bookings for August through to November 2021, pushing the traditional high season later in the year.”

This tallies with what Candice Buchan, product manager for Africa specialists Rainbow Tours, says: “We would hope that with the mass vaccine roll out, that best-case scenario, we see the majority of the UK vaccinated and able to travel by September time, with certificates of vaccination allowing entry to a wide spread of destinations.

“Realistically though, we are now probably looking closer to the end of the year.”

Danny Callaghan of the Latin American Travel Association agrees that autumn holidays are a strong possibility. “Realistically, I’d say we’re looking at our autumn [for a return of Latin American holidays], but I also think that

ON-SCREEN TRAVEL there is enough desire to travel that we could see shorter than normal lead times on trips if regulations do allow travel sooner.”

After a tumultuous period for the travel industry, tour operators such as Thomas Cook have dropped prices to lure in early bookings for an autumn escape. Thomas Cook is listing a week at a self-catering property in Gran Canaria for £196 per person, including flights, departing on Oct 5.

It also has three nights at the Fairfield by Marriott in Manhattan, with flights, costing £497 per person, departing on Oct 30.