Travel agents forecast growth in foreign travel
Consumers in the UK are likely to head overseas in greater numbers this year, a new poll has revealed.
Marketing company The Network carried out a poll of independent travel agents and found that most were expecting the number of bookings to be up on 2007.
More than one in three respondents have forecast an increase of between 5 and 10% compared with the previous year, while over one in five were expecting this rate of growth to be even higher.
While long-haul destinations were tipped to see the bulk of the extra interest, established European markets were still expected to be popular destinations.
For example, Italy was said to be likely to see a 15% increase in the number of holiday bookings.
Commenting on the findings, business development director Paula Lacey told TravelMole: "The prospects for 2008 holiday bookings through the trade are hugely encouraging."
This comes after the World Travel & Tourism Council said the global holiday industry gave a "solid performance" last year, with the overall number of holidaymakers going up.
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