Holidays proving hard to resist (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Growing numbers in Bradford who will take a break amid the gloom

8:42am Monday 6th February 2012 in Behind the News By Jim Greenhalf

According to the old saying, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

For Britons in general and Bradfordians in particular, getting going includes booking holidays at home and abroad.

Research commissioned by hotwire.com shows that nearly a million more people, 955,092, plan to take trips this year compared to last year, in spite of the economy’s wintry conditions.

However, though many more are seeking sun, sea and sangria in foreign places or home coastal regions of the South and South West, average spending is reportedly down, a trend confirmed by Stephen Howard, an independent travel agent in Wibsey for the past 23 years.

He says: “Add-ons such as upping your baggage, pre-booking and meals on the plane, people are cutting down on these in order to go on holiday.

“Last year we noticed a fall in family holidays. People were concerned about jobs. This year families are saying ‘to hell with it, we are going to have a break’, maximising breaks around bank holidays especially. Early signs are that June is going to be extremely popular this year.”

The places families are going to Mr Howard’s High Street shop to book for include Turkey, Bulgaria, Croatia and Spain. The cost of living is not deterring people from booking flights from Leeds-Bradford Airport to the Costa Brava, the Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol.

“People are trying to fly from local airports. We have a special deal with Leeds-Bradford; anyone booking a holiday in excess of £500 gets a fast-track pass and entry to the Premier Lounge.

“With Manchester, you have a wider choice of destinations; but we’re catching up. For this summer we have city breaks from Leeds-Bradford Airport to Berlin and Budapest. In recent years they’ve added Dubrovnik and Nice, and these have proved popular,” he adds.

Travel agencies have diminished in number since the 1960s and 1970s when Paul Williams remembers about 20 of them in and around central Bradford. He and Stephen Howard used to work for the Briggs & Hill agency in Sunbridge Road in those days, probably the peak of package holiday popularity.

Mr Williams, manager of the Wallace Arnold branch in Ivegate, counted off the number of travel agencies still trading in central Bradford.

“Now there’s the Co-op, Thomson, Thomas Cook, Howard’s Way in Cheapside and ourselves. This shop has been here since the mid-1970s,” he says.

Wallace Arnold joined forces with the Lancashire firm of Shearings. The two major coach operators in the UK now have 48 hotels to fill.

They are able to do so by offering significant discounts. And like Stephen Howard, Mr Williams is finding that people are fed up with worrying about the future. Those on pensions, especially, are enjoying their money while they have the health to do so. Tomorrow, bleak as it may be, can look after itself.

Apart from three-night weekend breaks to Eastborne, the Isle of Wight and the Scottish Highlands, discounted from more than £100 to £69, Mr Williams is finding that more people are booking what he called “pretty high-revenue holidays” – river cruises on the Rhine, the Moselle and the Italian Lakes. And as the weather here gets colder, people are looking to jet off to Benidorm and other sunny places.

He says: “During January we were up 58 per cent on people booking. It’s all right tightening the belt and people are a bit cautious about what they’re spending, but holidays are very important, especially for people who are retired.

“One of our most popular markets is the Monday-to-Friday South Coast destination.

“For £119 they are fed, watered and entertained, and they don’t have any cooking or heating costs. Our October to April five-day market is doing very well. people have had enough. People in their 80s or 90s get next to nothing from interest rates. They are being encouraged by their children to enjoy their savings while they can.”

Tony Mann, director of Idle Travel at Five Lane Ends, said January had been busier than last January. “I think people are fed up. Apart from the popular Mediterranean destinations, America has become popular. People are doing China. Australia was popular in December,” he said.

Hard times are making people more adventurous.