Mexico No. 1 long haul destination but Caribbean is also a star
The Caribbean has become one of the star destinations to emerge for long haul travel so far this year, according to Hayes & Jarvis latest trend report.
Malaysia is another winner that has fueled demand with price initiatives such as cheap flights.
“However, the runaway success,” according to the H&J Long Haul Report, “is still Mexico – now a cool 140 per cent up in bookings compared with a year ago.
Mexico also emerges as runner-up to Egypt and Sri Lanka for best value in the All Inclusive Package Price Index.
However, the report found the biggest savings revealed by the All Inclusive Package Price Index are to the Caribbean, where a June package to Barbados saves 40 per cent, to Antigua 33 per cent and to St Lucia 32 per cent.
Said Hayes & Jarvis Commercial Director Niel Alobaidi:
“Growth of over 25 per cent for Antigua, Barbados, Cuba and Jamaica in the past two months has been fuelled by tactical discounting by Caribbean hoteliers. This proves that the increase in Air Passenger Duty has not been the deterrent that many imagined. Competitive pricing has delivered for the Caribbean, both for late summer bookings and for the crucial winter sun season.”
The report went on to say that Egypt has yet to pull back after its revolution at the beginning of 2011, and tourism to the region has struggled since then, with Cairo and Luxor suffering most from the downturn in demand.
“The knock on effect is that bargain hunters will find unbeatable deals in Red Sea resorts in the coming months, which means that Egypt emerges as the best value destination in the H&J Package Price Index for the third time running,” according to the report
Said Alobaidi:
“There are amazing offers for travel to Egypt because of events earlier this year, both on hotels and air fares. This extends to Dubai, which has also been impacted by the negative publicity.”
He added, however, that he would not be surprised to see Egypt bounce back in the near future.
Supporting Alobaidi’s prediction of a swift Egypt recovery, Thailand has pulled back well after last year’s unrest in Bangkok. Hayes & Jarvis reports strong sales for Bangkok stopovers this year and says that by far the best performing beach resorts this year have been those – Phuket, Koh Samui, Khao Lak and Krabi – that involve a flight transfer from Bangkok.
Value remains the big determiner in today’s long haul market and the sheer volume of discounted deals available means that Hayes & Jarvis has not seen the big fall off in long haul bookings widely predicted earlier in 2011.
By David Wilkening
David
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