Top Summer 2013 Destinations Top Winter 2013 Destinations Top Long Haul 2013 Destinations Top Cities for 2013 Savings, Santorini and Sin City Throughout February, Thomas Cook has been offering savings of up to £250 per booking as part of its 2013 holiday campaign. The discount is available on thousands of holidays departing from 1 May 2013 through to the end of April 2014 with Thomas Cook, Airtours and Manos, plus selected packages with Club 18-30, Cresta, Neilson, Thomas Cook Sport and Signature from Thomas Cook. Commenting on the hot destinations for 2013, Sales, Marketing and E-Commerce Director, Mike Hoban singled out Greece in particular: “Greece looks to be making a really strong comeback this year with online and offline enquiries significantly up on last month. Searches for Santorini have doubled as have those for our specialist Greek tour operator, Manos, and other Greek islands including Crete and Zakynthos. “Looking further afield, we’ve also added additional charter flights on our Las Vegas route meaning customers can now opt for a 3 or 4 night short break as well as a 10 or 11 night holiday in addition to the traditional week or fortnight duration. As a result Sin City is one of the top Winter long haul destinations in 2013 so far.” THOMAS COOK HOLIDAY MONITOR MARCH 2013 - ISSUE 2 The Thomas Cook Holiday Monitor is designed to provide you with travel industry trends and facts at your fingertips. In the first issue of 2013 we provide a snapshot of how the traditional holiday booking period is progressing and the popular destinations, while taking a look at some of the modern trends impacting family holidays for the great British public. For more information contact the Thomas Cook UK Press Office on 01733 417272, pressoffi[email protected] or @TCPressOfficeUK * Based on charter and scheduled searches with Thomas Cook brands Latest research by Thomas Cook reveals Britain’s love for its furry friends One in ten Brits take a photo of their pet on holiday with them ‘More Poochie than Gucci’ - pet toy sales outstrip Gucci perfume on Thomas Cook airlines New research on behalf of Thomas Cook shows that the British obsession with their pets has reached new heights. With technology becoming more and more accessible whilst on holiday and with free hotel Wi-Fi now one of the top criteria for holidaymakers, pet owners are finding more ways to keep in touch with their furry family members while they are abroad. The poll of 2,000 people found that one in three pet owners phone or e-mail home while on holiday specifically to check on their pets, and 1 in 20 admitted to skyping or speaking down the phone to their pet from abroad. The survey also found that 13% of people said they took their pets on holiday with them and with around 100,000 Britains owning pet passports it means the future of Fluffy and Rover’s international adventures look bright. Barking mad Brits Skype pets while on holiday More Poochie than Gucci A staggering one in ten Brits also admitted to buying their pets a present while on holiday, and the rise of pet friendly souvenirs has followed suit, with doggy t-shirts, poncho’s and chew toys available in destinations all over the world. Animal lovers can pick up a ‘Pet Plane’ for dogs on Thomas Cook flights – a chew toy priced at £6 which has trumped sales of women’s fragrance Gucci Guilty.
Transcript
Top Summer2013 Destinations
Top Winter2013 Destinations
Top Long Haul2013 Destinations
Top Cities for 2013
Savings, Santorini and Sin City
Throughout February, Thomas Cook has been offering savings of up to £250 per booking as part of its 2013 holiday campaign. The discount is available on thousands of holidays departing from 1 May 2013 through to the end of April 2014 with Thomas Cook, Airtours and Manos, plus selected packages with Club 18-30, Cresta, Neilson, Thomas Cook Sport and Signature from Thomas Cook.
Commenting on the hot destinations for 2013, Sales, Marketing and E-Commerce Director, Mike Hoban singled out Greece in particular: “Greece looks to be making a really strong comeback this year with online and offline enquiries significantly up on last month. Searches for Santorini have doubled as have those for our specialist Greek tour operator, Manos, and other Greek islands including Crete and Zakynthos.
“Looking further afield, we’ve also added additional charter flights on our Las Vegas route meaning customers can now opt for a 3 or 4 night short break as well as a 10 or 11 night holiday in addition to the traditional week or fortnight duration. As a result Sin City is one of the top Winter long haul destinations in 2013 so far.”
THOMAS COOK HOLIDAY MONITORMARCH 2013 - ISSUE 2
The Thomas Cook Holiday Monitor is designed to provide you with travel industry trends and facts at your fingertips. In the first issue of 2013 we provide a snapshot of how the traditional holiday booking period is progressing and the popular destinations, while taking a look at some of the modern trends impacting family holidays for the great British public.
For more information contact the Thomas Cook UK Press Office on 01733 417272, [email protected] or @TCPressOfficeUK
* Based on charter and scheduled searches with Thomas Cook brands
Latest research by Thomas Cook reveals Britain’s love for its furry friends
One in ten Brits take a photo of their pet on holiday with them
‘More Poochie than Gucci’ - pet toy sales outstrip Gucci perfume on Thomas Cook airlines
New research on behalf of Thomas Cook shows that the British obsession with their pets has reached new heights. With technology becoming more and more accessible whilst on holiday and with free hotel Wi-Fi now one of the top criteria for holidaymakers, pet owners are finding more ways to keep in touch with their furry family members while they are abroad.
The poll of 2,000 people found that one in three pet owners phone or e-mail home while on holiday specifically to check on their pets, and 1 in 20 admitted to skyping or speaking down the phone to their pet from abroad.
The survey also found that 13% of people said they took their pets on holiday with them and with around 100,000 Britains owning pet passports it means the future of Fluffy and Rover’s international adventures look bright.
Barking mad Brits Skype pets while on holiday
More Poochie than Gucci
A staggering one in ten Brits also admitted to
buying their pets a present while on holiday, and
the rise of pet friendly souvenirs has followed
suit, with doggy t-shirts, poncho’s and chew
toys available in destinations all over the world.
Animal lovers can pick up a ‘Pet Plane’ for dogs
on Thomas Cook flights – a chew toy priced at £6
which has trumped sales of women’s fragrance
Gucci Guilty.
1. Cosmetics crush: Stila 1-Step Correct and Coca Cola lip smackers
2. All that glitters: The Pandora range including bracelet and charms, and Plane & Suitcase Charm Set
3. Favourite Fragrance: Lady Gaga and Jimmy Choo for women and James Bond 007 and Boss Duo for men
4. Top tipple: New Bottega Gold Prosecco
5. Gifts: Thomas Cook Airlines’ Charity Bear, Tommy Bear, topped the gift lists in 2012. A Tilly Bear and pilot outfit for Tommy are brand new for January 2013. £1 from every sale goes to the Thomas Cook Children’s Charity. Also selling well for kids this season is the Moshi Monsters Bumper Pack
6. Quirky: The Pet Plane - a travel treat for man’s best friend (£6) was a top seller in 2011 and 2012
Holiday snapshot
An overseas holiday = Brits’ No.1spending priority in 2013
47 per cent of people said a holiday would be their most important purchase this year
Over 32 million searches have been made on Thomascook.com so far this year, with Greece making a strong comeback
Predicted average spend per person in 2013 is £672, with ¼ of Brits spending between
£500-£1000 per person
1 in 10 Brits have already started shopping for their holiday wardrobe, making the most of the New Year Sales
50% of all Thomas Cook’s charter packages sold in 2012 were All Inclusive
Bookings for Thomas Cook’s differentiated holidays, like Aquamania and Style Collection, were up 8% in 2012, and now make up 52% of all charter packages sold
Footfall is up 42% year on year in Thomas Cook’s brand new Concept Store which opened in Leeds White Rose centre prior to Christmas, dubbed ‘more Apple than travel’
* based on research from One Poll, carried out on behalf of Thomas Cook
Cost of living
Thomas Cook’s Holiday Cost of Living survey helps holidaymakers manage their complete budget by regularly sampling the prices of holiday essentials in the most popular destinations.
Tunisia Cost down Average basket
1.5% £30.53
St Lucia is Thomas Cook Signature’s most
popular Caribbean scheduled destination,
attracting 28% of passengers considering the
Caribbean.Its best-selling US destination is Florida taking a
40% share of passengers. New York is second
with a quarter of the passengers, and then Las
Vegas and Los Angeles / San Francisco
Did you know one of Neilson’s top-selling
ski resorts is Geilo, Norway which offers a
selection of family-friendly slopes, some of
which are floodlit at night. There are 550
kilometres of prepared cross-country trails
and it is also recognised as a world-class
area for kite-skiing.
Nearly a third of all searches on Thomascook.
com in 2013 have been made on mobile
devices. The iPad is king with 58% of visits
made on this device. The iPhone comes in
second with 22% and the Samsung Galaxy
family of devices come in third with 6% of
visits.
On the airwavesSEAT 3B
The top selling items on board Thomas Cook flights are:
SEAT 3B
Flight No. TC1234
* current as of January 2013
With increasing news of families being fined for taking children out of school for their annual break, it’s travel operators who frequently bear the brunt of criticism for charging higher costs in peak times, causing families to take the kids away during term time.It’s always been the case that times of peak demand mean prices can be higher. But, with traditional school holiday dates on the move it’s not just the price that has become a family hurdle as the recent February half term shows.
Traditionally, county education authorities have set their school calendar around common dates across the country, with public schools following these as a rule. However, with the creation of the new academy schools and a number of counties experimenting in breaking up long terms, the traditional school term is now anything but, and the margins of overlap allowing family time away together are diminishing!
Increasingly, families can have children in different schools, sometimes spanning county borders, who are off at different times. For split families and multi-family households, trying to co-ordinate a holiday all together is even more of a logistical nightmare.
Half terms tend to be the biggest holiday casualties in the school year. Take February half term as an example; as holidays become more disparate from school to school, the one-week break is spreading to absorb the whole month of February. This puts pressure on covering childcare, even if only staying at home and makes it more likely that parents will seek permission to take one or more children out of school in order to achieve that one common week together.
If families opt against a half term break, parents rely even more on the summer, but small changes to the traditional six-week block are creeping in here too.
So if you’re considering taking the kids out of school, remember it’s not a right – even one day needs to be applied for, but schools are able to authorise up to 10 days. If you don’t follow this process, penalty fines can be issued, but Thomas Cook has a few tips to assist you.
TC OPINION: School holidays on the move…
In the US, Ireland and Ita
ly the
summer holiday is as lo
ng as
three months so it m
ight be busy
for longer but w
ithout a big rush.
Summer holidays in Germany,
France and Australia are staggered
to ensure those holidaymakers
staying at home don’t block up
transport networks
Summer holidays in the southern hemisphere are different – Brazil has three months from early December to early February when it’s their summer.
Our next Holiday Monitor will be available in the Spring. If you’d like more information on any of the above, please visit http://news.thomascook.com or contact us at
• DoastheScottishdo.AstheschoolholidaysinScotlandhaveless overlap with England, Scots often fly out of Manchester or Newcastle to keep their holiday costs down, and customers in the North are increasingly doing the same in reverse, by crossing the border for their bonnie departure.
• Ifyouneedto,applyearlyforanyabsencefromschool–youmight not be the only ones asking. Also bolster your case by explaining some of the cultural experiences your children will be enjoying while they are away – museums, other excursions and experiencing different cultures all help to develop life skills.
• Considerbookingyourholidayearlytotakeadvantageofdiscount and cheap kids places – there might be a limited number of places.
• Ifbookinglate,buildinflexibility–take10daysoffworktogeta7 night holiday, and be broad in destinations you will look at
• Considerthetimingsofschoolholidaysinthecountryyou’reheading to as this may also affect holiday availability and pricing, and how busy resorts are.
Helping to make holidays hassle free
Thomas Cook offers complimentary online check-in and for those passengers travelling from Gatwick and Manchester, they will be able to use the Sundown check-in service to drop their luggage at the airport the evening before, on flights departing before noon the next day.
Families travelling with infants also receive 10kg free luggage allowance, Thomas Cook has also introduced a number of pre-bookable bookable perks such as late check-out, private transfers and excursions all which enable families to tailor the holiday to their specific needs
Thomas Cook Family World - 7 nights in
Majorca from £2,654 per family of 3
Staying at the 4 star Iberostar Vell Mari
in Ca’n Picafort on all inclusive, departing
Manchester – 2nd August 2013
Early Booking Family Deals
Airtours Sunstar – 7 nights in Lanzarote from £1,805
for a family of 3
Staying at the 3 star Sun Tropical Island Resort in Playa
Blanca on self- catering, departing London Gatwick –
26th May 2013
Thomas Cook MyStyle - 7 nights in Turkey from £1,823 for a family of 3Staying at the 5 star Paloma Oceana Resort in Side on all
inclusive, departing Manchester – 26th October 2013
