More Thomas Cook customers choosing non-EU holidays
More Brits are choosing non-EU holiday destinations this summer, says Thomas Cook.
The tour operator said 48% of summer package holiday bookings were for countries outside the EU, up from 38% a year ago.
Thomas Cook’s 2019 Holiday Report said the weakness of the pound against the euro was the most likely cause for the trend.
It also said that the prolonged uncertainty around the UK’s exit from the European Union had led many to delay their decision on when and where to book.
The biggest beneficiary has been Turkey, which saw the biggest growth in demand, although Spain remains the top destination for the travel operator’s summer package holidays.
Turkey has overtaken Greece, which is now in third place, to become this summer’s second most popular package holiday destination.
The US is in fourth spot and Cyprus in fifth.
Thomas Cook chief of tour operating Will Waggott said: "Britain may be living through unique times from a political perspective, however our desire to holiday abroad is clear.
"Thomas Cook’s 2019 Holiday Report reveals that the political turmoil is having an impact in other ways, revealing itself in a clear shift to non-EU countries and a growth in all-inclusive.
"Turkey has already overtaken Greece to claim the number two spot of most desirable summer destinations and Tunisia is working its way back up the popularity stakes as it re-establishes itself as a hotspot for British tourists."
Group CEO Peter Fankhauser said: "In the UK, we are living in a time of unprecedented political upheaval and there is little doubt that the prolonged uncertainty around the manner and timing of Britain’s exit from the European Union has led many customers to press pause on their holiday plans for this summer.
"At the time of writing, the Brexit deadline has been extended until the end of October but it is too early to say what impact this will now have on consumer confidence."
Meanwhile, a year after ditching its Club 18-30 holiday brand, Thomas Cook research shows the ‘age of foam parties and Brits behaving badly abroad is a distant memory’.
It also claims holiday romances are dead, with the idea now ‘almost totally alien’ to younger people today.
Just 10% said they viewed partying as important while 42% said they valued cultural sites.
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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