The Midcounties Co-operative’s travel business saw like-for-like sales growth of 16% for the month of December after increased demand for traditional package holidays and luxury destinations.
Bookings for summer 2017 were up by 18% at the co-op in the month of December, outperforming the market by 7%.
Top destinations include the Canary Islands, with bookings up 48%, and the Caribbean, with an increase of 44%, followed by mainland Spain and Portugal.
Alistair Rowland, group general manager at Midcounties Co-operative Travel, said: “December capped off a fantastic year for us, with revenue topping £335m across our branches, personal travel agents and consortium members.
“It’s encouraging to see strong demand for luxury locations, suggesting consumers remain confident despite some of the uncertainty caused by Brexit and other world events.”
The co-op’s 56 travel branches also saw sales rise 14% for their summer 2017 offer, compared to an average 1% increase for other high street agents, based on Package Holiday booking data from GfK Leisure Travel Monitor at 24th December 2016.
Mr Rowland added: “Post-Christmas enquiries are up and we’re seeing a faster rate of growth in the family market versus couples, pointing to the importance of the family holiday for UK consumers.
“We’ve already made a strong start to 2017, which we are confident will be another record trading year for us.”
