Consumers searching for Bargain Holidays to Turkey, Balearics and Egypt, says holidayholidayholiday.co.uk

May 16, 2010 (PRLEAP.COM) Travel News
The current unrest over the financial situation in Greece seems to be influencing UK consumers to look elsewhere for their bargain holidays this year, according to holidayholidayholiday.co.uk. The drop in holidaymakers booking and searching for Greece Holidays has also culminated in a rise in searches and bookings to other popular destinations such as Majorca, Turkey and Egypt.

In particular, Turkey has seen a rise in searches on the holiday comparison website in May so far, to over double the volume of holiday searches experienced during April. It currently holds the number one spot for holiday searches on holidayholidayholiday.co.uk. Balearic holidays, a staple of the summer holiday booking trade for the UK are also proving popular in the current climate, especially Majorca. Egypt, traditionally a firm winter sun favourite, is holding on to the 3rd spot in the holiday searches, perhaps because there are many excellent bargain holidays still available.

This change in pattern may indicate that holidaymakers are still looking for bargain holidays for Summer but are avoiding booking Greece until the unrest has settled, despite the issues in Greece being on the mainland as opposed to the traditional summer holiday locations in the Greek Islands.

Says Director Trevor Butler "Holidaymakers are still booking holidays and searching for their summer holidays but their usual behaviour has changed slightly. Instead of booking classic summer holiday destinations such as Greece which we would normally see near the top spot at this point, they are choosing to look at Turkey, Majorca and Egypt as preferred options at the moment. This is due in part to the unrest in Greece, but perhaps also there's an element of uncertainty about the ash cloud situation and some people also feel if they book outside the Eurozone e.g. Turkey and Egypt, that they are less likely to be affected by cancellations in the future, albeit not necessarily factually true."

The travel industry has had a challenging year so far, with disruptions to travel from the ash cloud, strikes and now the unrest in Greece. However, all signs indicate that consumers are still booking those all important bargain holidays away, with the majority still looking for 7-10 nights. The various situations don't seem to have stopped consumers searching for holidays so far, reinforcing how important they have become.