A specialist operator says the travel industry needs to move away from pushing customers to book in January, after a survey revealed a dramatic fall in holiday lead times.
The survey of almost 10,000 Wanderlust readers, who spend an average of £12,000 each a year on travel, found that a quarter planned to book only one to three months before departure.
Almost a third planned to book just three to six months before departure, a further 30% planned to book six to 12 months ahead, while only 7% intended to book more than a year ahead.
Addressing an AITO event in central London, Wanderlust Editor in Chief George Kipouros described the data, gathered from December 2024 to mid-January, as ‘surprising’ as the average lead time used to be six to 12 months.
“People are waking up in February and deciding to go to Peru or Costa Rica in June, we’ve never seen anything like this before,” said George. “The only destination where we’re not seeing a reduction in lead times is Antarctica.
“It’s creating an impossible situation for tour operators because they can’t satisfy the demand. Japan is a huge problem, for instance, everyone wants to see the cherry blossom but they wait till the flowering dates are announced and expect to be able to book then, but the tour operators can’t find the capacity.”
James Westrip, founder and Director of AITO member Africa Collection, agreed shorter lead times are creating a big problem for the industry. “Space is an issue,” he said. “The demand is there but you can’t satisfy demand.”
Urging the travel industry to move away from Peaks, he said: “The message that you have to book in January is foolish as an industry. We need to encourage people to book earlier to avoid disappointment.”
However, Kirker Holidays Director Ted Wake said the booking window shortened last year due to certain ‘disruptive’ factors, such as the General Election and the Autumn Budget. He added: “In future, those people who can afford it will book further in advance.”
