Product Code Database
A package tour, package vacation, or package holiday comprises transport and lodging advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided such as a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via automobile, bus, or charter airline and may also include travel between areas as part of the holiday. Package holidays are a form of product bundling.
Package holidays are organised by a and sold to consumers by a . Some travel agents are employees of tour operators, while others are independent.
With the gradual decline of visits to British seaside resorts after the Second World War, Thomas Cook & Son began promoting foreign holidays (particularly Italy, Spain and Switzerland) in the early 1950s. Information films were shown at town halls throughout Britain. However they made a costly decision by not going into the new form of cheap holidays which combined the transport and accommodation arrangements into a single 'package'. The company went further into decline and were only rescued by a consortium buy-out on 26 May 1972.
By the late 1950s and 1960s, these cheap package holidays — which combined flight, transfers, and accommodation — provided the first chance for most people in the United Kingdom to have affordable travel abroad. One of the first charter airlines was Euravia, which commenced flights from Manchester Airport in 1961 and Luton Airport in 1962. Despite opening up mass tourism to Crete and the Algarve in 1970, the package tour industry declined during the 1970s. On 15 August 1974, the industry was shaken by the collapse of the second-largest tour operator, Court Line, which operated under the brand names of Horizon and Clarksons. Nearly 50,000 tourists were stranded overseas and a further 100,000 people faced the loss of booking deposits.
In 2005 a growing number of consumers were avoiding package holidays and were instead travelling with and booking their own accommodation. In the UK, the downturn in the package holiday market led to the consolidation of the tour operator market, which is now dominated by a few large tour operators. The major operators were Thomson Holidays and First Choice part of TUI AG and Thomas Cook AG. Thomas Cook Group ceased operations in 2019 due to bankruptcy. As of 2023, Jet2holidays is the UK's largest tour operator, with TUI UK following in second place. Under these umbrella brands are different holiday operators catering to different markets, such as Club 18-30, traveleze Jet2CityBreaks and Jet2Villas.
The trend for package holiday bookings saw a comeback in 2009, as customers sought greater financial security in the wake of a number of holiday and flight companies going bust, and as the hidden costs of 'no-frills' flights increased. Coupled with the search for late holidays as holidaymakers left booking to the last moment, this led to a rise in consumers booking package holidays.
Dynamic packaging allows guests to create their own vacation, similar to a private or custom tour. This method allows guests to use a company's itinerary or create their own to allow for more flexible options while using an agency's services.
|
|
