On the Beach is riding the wave of a booming demand for package holidays and is expecting its biggest summer booking season yet.
The travel group anticipates another record year of sales, boosted by a surge in bookings.
In the first half of its financial year, the company reported a 13 per cent year-on-year increase in sales by total transaction value (TTV), reaching £640.7 million.
This was driven by an 11 per cent increase in the volume of bookings over the period, which has risen to 18 per cent since the beginning of April, it said.
Summer sales are currently 14 per cent higher than last year, as people secure getaways to destinations in Europe.
The Manchester-based company reported a pre-tax profit of £3.3 million for the first half of its financial year, up 18 per cent on the prior year.
On The Beach said that demand for package holidays was continuing to “buck wider UK consumer trends”, indicating that the travel industry has been more cushioned from a wider spending slump affecting sectors such as retail and hospitality.
Customers continue to “prioritise travel”, chief executive Shaun Morton said, adding that the company was “well placed to deliver our biggest summer to date”.
New city break packages were “scaling rapidly and being enjoyed by both new and existing customers”, he said, bringing the total number of short and long-haul cities to 130.
The group also said it was reaching new customers after expanding into Ireland.
