“Properties vary greatly in terms of style and quality in Croatia, and part of the recent increase can be attributed to those looking for expert advice on decent properties, however, the current economic climate has also had an impact.

“Villas and apartments offer more living space and represent much better value than hotel accommodation. Self catering can also significantly reduce total holiday costs.”

6. Consumers will buy late but value available for early bookers

Chris North Director at Co-op Travel’s Saniholidays said “Recently, we’ve noticed a late bookings trend driven by more frugal spending habits. Holiday makers are waiting to see how much money they have left in the pot before booking, and are also searching for low cost late deals.

Whiteman supports this supposition: “We’ve certainly seen holidays being purchased much later than in previous years and are expecting late popularity to continue for the first half of next year. We intend to run a number of early booking incentives in January and February to drive sales. Consumers should look out for these savings as others are likely to follow suit.”

Frank Skivington, VP of Commercial at Skyscanner commented “Something to consider when booking flight only is many airlines discourage late bookers by increasing flight costs near to the date of travel. Those holiday makers looking for a bargain should also consider booking well in advance for significant cost savings.”

7. Holiday duration changes

Co-op Travel’s Chris North says “So far, ten and eleven night breaks are proving very popular.”

Charlotte Cumming, Marketing Manager of directline holidays reiterates this point saying “There has been a small but steady decline in the number of people booking the traditional package holiday length - seven and fourteen nights, whereas ten night bookings are up 17%**.”

8. APD not as bad as initially feared?

Williams of Skyscanner comments: “For those destinations which are worse affected by the recent hikes in APD, we expect travellers may look for alternatives – however we would recommend that holidaymakers check flight prices before they discount long haul destinations all together. The Caribbean, for example, falls in to the highest tax bracket but a quick look on Skyscanner this week shows the Dominican Republic and Jamaica are both offering exceptionally good value with prices in January starting from as little as £390 return. Flights to other long haul destinations may still offer good value for money, particularly if travellers consider flying indirect via Europe to avoid paying the increased APD charges.”

Whiteman says: “A family of four flying to Egypt in economy class now pay £240 in APD – £80 more than before November when the new taxes came in to effect. The reality is many of our suppliers have already discounted room rates as a result of the increased flight cost so the impact is likely to be negligible from a tour operator perspective - holiday makers need not panic.”

9. Holiday makers opt for superior insurance

Stuart Bensusan, of travel insurance specialist, EssentialTravel.co.uk comments “This year was unusually difficult for the travel industry with airline strikes, the volcano, terrorist threats and the liquidation of Goldtrail, Sun4U and Kiss flights all impacting consumer sentiment.

“Whilst holiday makers have not stopped travelling we have noticed a significant increased interest in superior level insurance coverage for the second half of this year, which includes cover for redundancy, scheduled airline failure, higher cancellation coverage. We expect this to be our most popular policy for the year ahead.”

10. Social media platforms help consumers bag a bargain

E-commerce Director, John Lucas of directline holidays comments “Joie De Vivre hotel group tweet an exclusive deal to nearly 10,000 followers every Tuesday and in less than a year, has booked over 1,000 room nights through these types of deals - rooms that otherwise would have stayed empty. This increases revenue for the hotel group but also offers significant value to potential customers.

Lucas concludes: “Savvy consumers stand to benefit from exceptional offers by signing up to social media platforms. Holiday companies reward customer loyalty and can offer holiday ideas, inspiration and significant incentives on deals where they are able to sell high volumes.”

11. New holiday options

Founder of newly formed accommodation network MyFriendsHotel.com, Peter Kindness says:
“The internet has opened up many opportunities for travellers making travel more independent and local. MyFriendsHotel.com offers exciting new alternatives to the traditional package trips with accommodation ranging from a 5000 square metre villa with a private beach in Koh Samui to a cave in Turkey.”

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