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