Monday, October 22, 2007

Ski holiday specialist Ski-Direct reports rise in ski holiday bookings to Canada

Ski Holiday specialist Ski-Direct reports that Canada is attracting more ski holidaymakers than in previous years. People taking group ski holidays especially are heading to the slopes in Canada, according to analysis of early bookings made at through specialist online ski holiday booking agency www.ski-direct.co.uk

A number of trans-Atlantic airline companies have announced extra services to Canada's ski resorts this winter, making the pristine powder and awe-inspiring peaks of Canada more reachable for ski holidaymakers from Europe.

Another boost to Canada’s popularity is the excellent snow conditions its resorts enjoyed during the Winter 2007 season.

Jon Pearce from Ski-Direct says: “Canada is world-famous for its skiing. Snow conditions in the Canadian ski resorts are excellent and have some of the longest ski seasons in the world. Many of our customers return to Canada year after year once they get the taste of it.”

Canada is an ideal destination for group ski holidays, as the ski packages available at the Canadian ski resorts are often more flexible than those available in Europe.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Holidays in Majorca are the top choice for UK travellers this summer

Majorca is the most popular destination for holidays, it has been revealed by online travel agency Holidays-Direct, www.holidays-direct.co.uk after a review of sales of summer holidays.

Although well established as one of the top European family holiday destinations, it is a surprise to see Majorca holidays ahead of the hugely popular Spanish Costas, which are famous for offering good value and cheap family holidays.

The top 10 summer holiday destinations are as follows:-

1. Majorca
2. Costa Brava
3. Costa del Sol
4. Costa Blanca
5. Corfu
6. Algarve
7. Prague
8. Costa Dorada
9. Turkey
10. Cyprus

Overall Spain is once again the most popular country for summer holidays, with five appearances in the top 10, including Majorca.

Prague is the only citybreak destination to make the top 10. Short breaks in Prague are popular throughout the year, especially near Christmas when the city hosts Christmas markets in the medieval Old Town centre. Prague is also one of the top choices for hen and stag weekends.

Corfu is the only Greek island in the top 10, like Majorca it is a popular choice for family holidays and has recently established itself as great location for couples choosing to marry abroad.

There have been widespread reductions on holiday accommodation rates in mainland Spain and Turkey this summer, making both countries ideal for people looking for cheap family holidays.

Last summer a study of web searches for holiday destinations revealed that Portugal, particularly The Algarve, was the most searched for holiday destination.

Majorca (Mallorca) is an ideal family holiday destination and first became popular with travellers from the UK in the 1960s. There is a wide choice of luxury hotel complexes and self-catering apartments along the clean, sandy stretches of beach. As well as catering to families, the island has a mixture of quiet and more lively resorts with great bars and restaurants, for people looking for nightlife on holiday.

Inland there are several quaint, unspoilt old towns to explore in the mountainous, rural landscape.

Another reason for Majorca holidays being so popular is that there are regular flights to the island from airports all around the UK, making it a convenient choice for holidaymakers wherever they live.

Airports operating regular flights to Majorca: -

Belfast, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Doncaster Sheffield, Durham Tees Valley, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Gatwick, Glasgow, Humberside, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Southampton, Stansted.

Note to editors:
This report is based on total sales to date through Holidays-Direct at www.holidays-direct.co.uk and partner site www.citybreaks-direct.co.uk for summer 2007 (May to October).

Online travel agency www.holidays-direct.co.uk is part of the Midlands Co-operative Society Group and is a member of ABTA. They specialise in providing affordable flights and accommodation in the top holiday destinations around the world.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Reports about holiday bargains have been exaggerated, but cheap holidays in Turkey and mainland Spain can definitely be found

Don’t believe the hype, but do your research and you’ll be able to take advantage of great deals on mainland Spain and Turkey holidays for summer 2007. That’s the message from www.holidays-direct.co.uk.

Recent publicity about £5 bargain holidays this summer has misled many holiday shoppers, says online holiday booking agent www.holidays-direct.co.uk, but the truth is there are lots of cheap holidays available in popular holiday destinations.

Although recent news stories have been widely exaggerated, there are significant bargains to be found this year. It is particularly easy to book cheap holidays in Turkey and find mainland Spain holiday bargains this summer.

Recent stories about summer holidays being on sale for as little as £5 have caused a flurry of publicity in both mainstream news circles and tourist industry media. Naturally, such extreme bargain holidays are very rare and the truth behind the headlines is that room rates have been lowered in some of the most popular summer holiday destinations – leading to very customer-friendly price reductions for summer 2007.

This year has seen more and more competition between Mediterranean tourist centres as the prevalence of cheap flights is encouraging people to take more holidays.

The vast majority of holidaymakers now research and book their holidays online and are used to shopping around for the best holiday deals. This consumer demand for cheap holidays is driving competition and pushing prices down.

Paul Reeve of Holidays-Direct said: “The £5 summer holiday bargain is somewhat like the gold at the end of the rainbow, only slightly more believable. It’s a shame there has been so much attention focused on this as it is very true that there have been significant reductions in many resorts in Turkey and Spain. There is a wide range of really good deals to choose from and many resorts are cheaper to stay in than they were last summer.

For example: 7 nights in Turkey this July costs as little as £169 per person. 7 nights in Spain starts at just £199 per person *


Holidays-Direct is part of the Midlands Co-op Group and provides flights and accommodation for a range of countries including; the Balearic Islands, Bulgaria, the Canary Islands, the Caribbean, Egypt and the Red Sea, Italy, north Africa, Turkey, Spain and the USA.

As well as the online booking service, the Holidays-Direct holiday experts offer expert advice from their helplines. Customers can call 44 (0) 8000 501 301. There are no additional charges for booking online.

Other members of the Holidays-Direct family specialise in citybreaks across Europe (www.citybreaks-direct.co.uk) and skiing holidays (www.ski-direct.co.uk). The Ski-Direct team have over 100 years skiing experience and are specialists in the booking of group ski holidays across Europe and North America.

*Note to editors: Based on seven nights self-catering. Prices subject to changes, correct at the time of publication.

More holiday news at http://www.holidaynews-direct.co.uk

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Specialist ski holiday agency Ski-Direct continues to grow

Specialist online ski holiday booking agency Ski-Direct has announced a 20% growth in ski sales during the Winter 2006/07 season.

Winter 2006/07 saw the third consecutive 'year on year' boost for www.ski-direct.co.uk since the decision was made by parent company, www.holidays-direct.co.uk in 2004 to focus on this specialist market sector.

Ski-Direct attribute their success to the high level of ski expertise among their key staff (they have over 100 years combined experience in the industry) as well as a strong focus on delivering a high degree of customer service.

The online agency caters for specialist ski holiday bookings, such as groups, families requiring child care, as well as North American holidays and the beginner ski holiday market.

David Tonks, Manager of Ski-Direct said: "The major factor that differentiates Ski-Direct from our competitors is the quality and the specialisation in its products as well as its reputation of being one of the top agents for Chalet holidays in the UK"

Ski-Direct are forecasting another successful year for the 2007-8 winter ski holiday season. Advance sales are already well ahead of last year.

Ski Direct has designed interactive pages where skiers can search by choosing the holiday destination of their choice, or browse by specific categories, such as chalets search, luxury Selection, and family information.

To book ski holidays online, it's easy. Just visit the website at http://www.ski-direct.co.uk and tick on the holiday section of your choice.

Special ski bargains can be also found by clicking on the dedicated bargains section of the site. At the moment, for instance, Ski Direct offers fantastic ski package deals in Les Deux Alpes, in France, from only £189 for 7 nights.

All the ski holiday bargains, resort and weather guide as well as Winter 2007 ski holiday deals can be found on the Ski Direct home page.

About Ski-Direct

The company works with all the major Tour Operators including Inghams, Neilson, Airtours, First Choice and Crystal Ski, as well as the specialist Ski companies such as Ski Total, Ski Esprit, Skiworld and Mark Warner to make the best of customers' winter holidays.

Whatever ski makers are looking for to make the perfect ski holiday, they can find it through Ski-Direct.

Ski-Direct is a member of the Co-operative Travel Trading Group.


Press information, please contact

Jenny Simpson
Online PR Manager
Web Certain Europe Ltd
Blackthorn House
Northminster Business Park
Poppleton
York
YO26 6QW
44 1904 780030

Friday, January 12, 2007

Book a 'ridiculously cheap' ski holiday thanks to December's mild weather

December’s slump in ski holiday bookings means prices were dramatically reduced and ski fans can pick up some great bargains.

December saw a slump in ski holiday bookings as skiers were put off by reports of unseasonably mild weather, even though most of the major European ski resorts stayed open.

The drop in bookings caused an industry-wide price slash. Now weather conditions have picked up and there are still huge bargains to pick up.

David Tonks of independent ski holiday agent, www.ski-direct.co.uk described the current price of ski holidays as "ridiculously cheap" even though recent snowfalls across Europe have increased bookings and demand since the New Year.

Until this season, it has been rare for ski holidays to be marketed at cheap rates, unlike Mediterranean holidays. However, it is now possible to book seven nights in a top European ski resort for as little as £99 per person, including flights.

David Tonks says: "There was a lot of worry across the industry in December when the weather was so mild in Europe and a lot of relief when the snow fell in January. The Ski-Direct team have one hundred years combined experience in the ski holiday industry and we have never seen prices drop so quickly across the board.

"There are huge bargains out there for people who want to book a ski holiday now."

The mild weather only affected Europe. North American ski resorts have had excellent conditions since the start of the season.

Since the snowfall in the first two weeks of January, Ski-Direct has made more bookings than in the last two months.

Ski-Direct is one of the UK's leading independent ski holiday agents providing ski holiday offers across Europe and North America. The www.ski-direct.co.uk team has over 100 combined years experience skiing and marketing ski holidays. They work with major tour operators as well as specialist ski companies to offer a wide range of ski holidays and they specialise in chalet ski holiday packages.

Ski-Direct is a member of the Midlands Co-operative Society