| The global financial crisis has accelerated an | | | | bookings are the most important part of the UK |
| ongoing trend across the travel sector, namely | | | | holiday market. |
| the increasing popularity of cheap holidays as | | | | The reason for this sea change is, quite simply, |
| opposed to overtly “luxury” breaks. As | | | | computer power. Computers linked by the |
| the credit crunch and its after effects have led | | | | Internet are unbeatable when it comes to sifting |
| people to look for different ways of economising, | | | | vast amount of information and picking out those |
| marketing gurus have urged all industries to stress | | | | variables which are important to the individual user |
| the value-for-money of their products, with | | | | – in this case the potential holidaymaker. |
| “recession-beating” deals. | | | | Cheap holidays are much easier to hunt down |
| This is certainly true for the travel industry, as | | | | when processing power is harnessed, rather than |
| can clearly seen by the success of the no-frills | | | | “letting your fingers do the walking” |
| airlines compared to their more established rivals | | | | through local telephone directories, local papers or |
| and the rapid growth of independent online | | | | a host of brochures. This is a process which has |
| booking. | | | | only been assisted by the recession. |
| Indeed, it has been the appearance of scores of | | | | Despite the huge difficulties that this has caused |
| independent holiday providers that has provided a | | | | many operators across the travel sector, cheap |
| real spur to the availability of cheap holidays. It | | | | holidays have become more sought after than |
| has made tracking down bargains online available | | | | ever before, and so online bookings and price |
| to a far wider group of people than those who | | | | comparison sites have been given a boost |
| have been determined enough to hunt down | | | | alongside them. This in turn has had a knock-on |
| cheap holidays through their local newspapers or | | | | effect on the more established operators, who |
| small ads in the past. | | | | are casting an anxious eye towards their upstart |
| A further boost has come from the advent of | | | | Internet rivals – as can be seen from the |
| price comparison sites, which near-instantaneously | | | | large number of promotional deals and special |
| compare scores and scores of holiday prices, | | | | holidays from these companies strongly |
| customised to an individual customer’s own | | | | emphasising the low cost and value aspects of |
| preferences. It could be argued now that online | | | | their products. |