UK Travel Industry concerned with 'over supply'

With the recent announcement from holiday operators about the increase in seats over the last couple of months, the UK Travel Industry is concerned that 'over supply' could see holidays hugely discounted if demand doesn't meet supply.

The three largest holiday operators in the UK, Jet2Holidays, TUI, and easyJet Holidays, recently announced an increase in holiday offerings for the 2024 season. Whilst on the face of it this sounds like great news for would be holidaymakers, there is a concern within the UK Travel Industry that a discount war could be triggered if demand doesn't meet the supply.

Whilst the main three operators believe that their decisions to increase supply is a result of demand from UK Holiday makers, smaller operators are concerned that with events in the world such as financial difficulties and wars in the Ukraine and Middle East, could create an imbalance in demand and supply meaning that prices would fall.

CEO of Jet2Holidays, Steve Heapy, remains confident in the increased capacity of the 2024 schedule but also acknowledges that "an escalation of war in the Middle East or Ukraine or a major financial crisis" could create an imbalance between supply and demand, meaning that prices will decrease.

Whilst a price decrease might be music to the ears of holiday makers, the smaller operators in the UK holiday industry will be concerned that it will have a detrimental effect on their operations.