Florida Bookings On The Rise
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Co-Op Travel has pointed to a strengthening pound against the UD dollar as the main catalyst for a recent surge in holiday bookings to Florida.Year on year, Co-Operative bookings to the sunshine state grew by 49% at the start of May, marking a considerable increase on the previous month which managed an 8% decrease year on year. During this period, the pound rose by 11.5% against the US dollar (from $1.48 to $1.65).
Trevor Davis, Co-Operative Travel director of retail distribution said: “Understandably the holiday market is much more price sensitive than in recent years, but still this responsiveness to exchange rates is remarkable.
“If the pound continues to rally against foreign currencies, we believe this upward trend will continue.”
Spain, a destination which despite being a longstanding favourite with British tourists, has not enjoyed great success of late and the Co-Operative Travel’s research shows that Spain’s loss has been Egypt and Turkey’s gain, with tourists instead looking for cheaper alternatives outside of the ‘euro-zone’.
Last minute holidays to Egypt have increased by 25% year on year, whilst holidays in Turkey have remained steady despite tough trading conditions.
