Travel agent Thomas Cook has said that British people are reluctant to book their summer holidays due to concerns about terrorism.
Thomas Cook said that they had only sold 40% of their summer trips for the year, which is less than last year. The operator says that customer confidence in holidays abroad has been shaken by the recent terrorist attacks in key summer destinations such as Tunisia and Egypt. The CEO of the company said that the volatile political landscape was causing some people to postpone booking their holiday, meaning that there was a later booking pattern. He also said that the company had moved flights away from the likes of Tunisia, Turkey and Egypt to the western Mediterranean, where demand for holidays has increased.
The CEO said that he was ‘confident’ that Thomas Cook was doing ‘all the right things as a business’. The company sold 90% of its winter holidays last year, which was down by 2%. As a result of demand, prices were around 3 per cent higher than usual, with overall bookings down overall by 3%.
The report from Thomas Cook comes as rival company TUI plc announced last month that their bookings to Turkey were down by 40%, as a result of fears of terrorism, following attacks in Istanbul. At the time, TUI said that tourists are turning away from Turkey and towards safer destinations such as Spain, Greece and the Canary Islands.
This morning, Thomas Cook shares fell by 5%, alongside a slump for airlines overall, after news spread of a terrorist attack in Brussels.
For more information about Thomas Cook holidays, call Thomas Cook customer services.
Always check the Foreign Office for advice before you travel.
