Hays Travel made August profit thanks to “seacations”

Hays Travel made a profit in August thanks to the number of the Brits they’ve “sent on ‘seacations’”.

Hays Travel chair Dame Irene Hays said: “It wasn’t the summer we wanted, and we’re nowhere near where we were in 2019, but August has been stronger for us.

“The number of people we’ve sent on ‘seacations’ who’ve never cruised before, have tried one and come back and booked a cruise for next year or later this year, is massive. It’s got our customers’ appetites whetted for the future.”

Cruise specialist cruise.co.uk revealed last week that the “seacation” demand is set to continue with almost half (48 per cent) of holidaymakers who have taken a UK cruise this year planning to book another one within 12 months.

Almost half (49 per cent) of all bookings made with Hays Travel since August 1 were for short-haul breaks, while 23 per cent were for long-haul holidays, 23 per cent for cruise, and five per cent for UK breaks.

The majority of bookings made in August were forward bookings for summer 2022.

Only 27 per cent of bookings made in August were for summer 2021, while 40 per cent were for summer 2022, and two per cent for summer 2023. A total of 21 per cent booked for winter 2021, while nine per cent booked for winter 2022.

Dame Irene said that Hays Travel were “disappointed” that Turkey remained on the red list in last week’s travel update.

“We were disappointed about Turkey but pleased there were no other major destinations taken off the amber or green list. We’ve just come to expect that there’s going to be an element of disappointment with these announcements.”