Thomas Cook collapse has led to significant holiday price rises, says OTA
Thomas Cook’s collapse has led to ‘significant’ year on year holiday price increases for all departures, On the Beach Group claimed today.
It said the reduction in capacity, which has been compounded by continuing delays in the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft returning to service, means that pricing is not expected to return to normal this year.
In a trading update for the past four months, On the Beach said that it was still expecting strong sales growth for summer 2020 departures, despite the higher prices and seat capacity constraints.
The Group has more than doubled its offline marketing spend to drive awareness of its brand since the Thomas Cook collapse last September.
"Management expects that a proportion of this investment will payback in the second half of the financial year. Alongside this exceptional marketing spend, the Group has also focused on price competitiveness to continue to drive long term market share gains," On the Beach said in a statement ahead of its annual general meeting to be held later today.
It said its international sites have continued to deliver an ‘efficient performance year on year’, adding: "The Board continues to evaluate opportunities to enter new source markets," said On the Beach.
It is continuing its rollout of Classic Package Holidays and, as at January 31, more than 2,300 agents had signed up to the portal.
The Group will report Interim Results for the six months to March 31, 2020 on May 12. It annual pre-tax profits slumped 26% last year due to the Thomas Cook collapse.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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