A recent survey by a travel company has revealed that travellers are willing to purchase premium travel options, for the right price, which indicates an upturn on previous survey findings.
ALTOUR, a US-based international travel company with offices in the UK, France and other countries, has announced in its ALTOUR Index for April 2012 that promotions offered by luxury cruise lines, airlines, and premium resort vacations have become popular with travellers. Where luxury operators are prepared to offer acceptable pricing, value for money, and discounts, bookings are showing an unprecedented growth in demand.
Travel for leisure has risen by around 55 percent compared to the same period in 2011, says the bi-monthly survey of leisure agents, with a 25 percent increase in demand for luxury vacations.
The company agent and branch manager in Las Vegas, US, Lynn Minard, says, ‘People have taken that big step back into travelling, (with) confidence to spend that money on vacations They (the customers) looked at certain products or brands as out of their reach pricewise. Now these cruise lines have made so many great offers, in terms of value, that people are willing to bump up to the luxury or premium level. They are getting a lot more for their money. You see that a lot in the cruise market.’
Travellers also cited their main concern when booking travel as confusion regarding airline fees and policies, and are reportedly opting to book with travel companies offering them definite guarantees to shield them from any associated overpayments.
