31 January 2022
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Travel News
Michael Doorley, Managing Director of Shandon Travel has said “Our Travel Recovery after 2 years of 90% reduction in income, is happening. At Shandon Travel we are seeing a big increase in enquiries and bookings… consumer confidence is returning.”
A Deloitte survey in December showed 34% of those surveyed were motivated to book by the availability of direct flights; with Ryanair’s increased flight schedule from Dublin and Cork this bodes well for us in the medium to long term; 34 % are also influenced by last minute offers and 25% by airfare deals. Recovery in business travel is slower.
“EU countries are our most popular destinations with Spain topping the list. Long haul destinations are increasing, possibly due to postponed honeymoons. Cruises are relatively quiet. For family holidays we see a return to camping holiday parks all over Europe [ www.vacansoleil.ie ] – Italy being the most popular followed by France; we sell these to the UK market also and the sign of recovery is happening; we see a lot of interest in Croatia for families.”
“Post-Christmas we saw a lot of interest in Lapland 2022, but this has died down. Regular travel to USA and in particular LAS Vegas has recommenced. Our USA J1 and Camp Counsellor Visa programmes are up and running and proving very popular.”
“A word of caution if you’re booking online – make sure that it’s an Irish company as otherwise you may not get the level of service and security that you need.”
“There is a huge pent-up demand for foreign travel, and we expect this to last throughout the year and the recovery is welcome.” he concluded.
