The Shoulder Holiday Sector is Struggling....
There's something very smug about taking a shoulder season holiday - going away in early July or Mid September just before the school holidays start and getting cheaper prices, fewer crowds, but still good weather.
Shoulder season holidays have been booming of late, but mainly because so many not so well off people can't afford to pay premium prices to book ahead....
A recent European Travel Commission survey found that more than one in five Europeans now holiday in September, drawn by moreforgiving weather, fewer crowds, and lower prices. It's a success for operators — and many of them. TUI and On the Beach were two of the firms with strong bookings for shoulder season holidays.
However Jet2, the UK's biggest package-holiday company has encountered unwelcome turbulence in recent times - its shares plummetted recenlty after announcing that it could not offer profit guidance..... the problem being was that it hasn't been getting enough early bookings to balance the demand for last minute bookings.
But only for those seeking to serve the relatively marginalised!
Jet2's woes reveal an underlying truth of post-pandemic tourism. Consumers have grown more impulsive, but airlines and tour firms persist in betting on advance certainty. The result is volatility. All it takes in the tourism is one wet week or fuel price spike and tens of millions can be wiped from market value.
Meanwhile, richer and older shoppers seem utterly unperturbed: Saga, the tour firm for the over-50s, reported bookings were almost doubled year-on-year last month. Stability, at least for those who can afford it, still seems to sell.
Final Thoughts
This is a reminder of the difficulties companies who target the relatively poor face compared to the relatively well-off, it is obvious that the former are going to bear more risk when it comes to offering non essential services, but it's interesting to see it born out in reality!
One wonders about the future... increasing prices for all, fewer bargains to go around for the less well-off, it's a familiar story of the squeez
With a lot of people facing higher bills holidays are more of a luxury. It's the older folk who have the money. My parents travel a lot as they can do it any time. I have to tell them they don't have to look for special deals as they can afford to do what they really want. My other half works in a school, so we are more limited.
Flights can still be ridiculously cheap though. I wonder if that will change.