Overseas travel booms as England struggles

The country may be feeling the pinch of the economic downturn but it would seem that holidays are proving to be the last luxury to be given up. According to Gold Medal Travel Group the country may be heading into a recession but their figures are showing that people are spending more money than ever on holidays.

The press is rife with news of the travel industry struggling. The recent demise of Silverjet, Pure Flights and Zoom has only increased concerns about the effects of the credit crunch on the travel industry. Gold Medal Travel Group, the company behind netflights.com and Pure Luxury however is keen to point out that 2008 has started well and that in fact the North West Tour Operator is outperforming the market.

Over the past 18 months the group has shifted its position as a flight consolidator to focus on driving package sales via its tour operating arm. This strategy has proved highly successful with package business up 20% on last year and Gold Medal Travel Group’s newest brand Pure Luxury has seen growth of over 200% since its launch in May 2007.

Gold Medal’s Managing Director Terry Fisher is delighted with the upturn in trading: “it’s strange but we have never had it so good - we’ve worked hard building the business and positioning ourselves as a tour operator. The market is tough but it would seem that despite the credit crunch people are not choosing to compromise on their holidays.”