Holiday bookings up 15% to escape ‘recession talk’

PEOPLE are keen to escape “talk about the recession and Anglo” with advance holidays bookings up 15% to 30% this year.

This is according to the country’s travel agents, who descended upon Dublin’s Mansion House last night for the first ever Irish Travel Industry Awards organised by the Irish Travel Agents Association. The awards, say organisers, are the first time that travel agents will be recognised for their work.

Last night, they said people are reluctant to cut back on their summer getaway, with advance bookings up at travel agencies. Package holidays are also proving popular again, they said, as holiday-makers look for more security as a result of the disruptions experienced in the airline industry over the last 12 months.