Travel industry joins Black Friday frenzy
Airlines, tour operators and cruise lines have joined Black Friday frenzy with a host of offers and discounts.
Virgin Holidays said its decision to join the fray highlights the growing importance of Black Friday to the travel industry.
Instead of launching a regular sale, it has embarked on a social media campaign encouraging would-be holidaymakers to tweet @virginholidays with the hashtag #RedIsTheNewBlack, to help unlock increasingly attractive discounts.
The more people that tweet between 10:00 and 18:00 tomorrow, the more offers get unlocked, and the quality of the offers will increase as more levels are unlocked.
All-inclusive specialist Club Med has unveiled hundreds of Black Friday travel deals spanning over a four-day period, with up to 30% off all-inclusive holidays.
It said in 2015 bookings surged by 274% in the four-day period from Black Friday to Cyber Monday compared to the same period the year before, with Cyber Monday having seen the highest number of bookings in Club Med’s history.
Estelle Giraudeau, Club Med UK managing director UK, Ireland and Scandinavia, said: "Black Friday has become one of the most popular days in the British shopping calendar and following record-breaking bookings in 2015, we’re excited to once again be offering incredible deals to some of our most popular holiday destinations across the world."
Meanwhile, Monarch’s Black Friday sale runs from today until Thursday December 1, when it will be offering discounts on 20,000 seats to the Canaries (from £35 one-way) and to its most popular city break destinations, including three new routes to Stockholm, Zagreb and Porto (from £29).
Availability is on selected flights departing between January 1 and July 19 2017.
The airline is also giving £30 off all holidays, based on two adults sharing a £15 per person discount, £60 off all Lapland Holidays, and 10% off all hotel only bookings.
British Airways’ sale kicked off this morning and will continue until midnight on Cyber Monday (November 28).
It is offering savings of up to 49% on Club World flights to North American and Middle Eastern destinations and up to £500 per person on British Airways Holidays to the US and Canada.
European city breaks to Barcelona, Venice, Malaga, Alicante, Naples and Turin are on sale at £99 for flights and two nights’ accommodation.
"An estimated £1.1 billion was splashed out on Black Friday in the UK in 2015 so this year we are expecting a huge surge in traffic to ba.com with savvy shoppers logging on to grab a bargain," said Adam Daniels, BA chief commercial director.
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is offering savings of up to 50% on a selection of eight short breaks in 2017, available to book from Black Friday until Cyber Monday.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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