Cruise sales remain robust despite industry lull, says NJT boss
Not Just Travel has seen cruise and long haul business remain strong in the first four months of 2025 despite an overall “lull” in bookings
Co-founder Steve Witt said the travel industry stalled in April, with 70 per cent of families poised to book their summer holidays in the coming weeks.
“January to April is usually the peak booking time in the travel industry,” he continued. “We’ve had a strong first quarter, but April has told a different story.
“While many of our hundreds of travel consultants — and the industry as a whole — are experiencing a lull at the moment, our key trade partners remain confident that bookings will pick up in the coming weeks, leading to a late-travel boom.”
Witt pinned the dip in demand last month on factors such as a late Easter delaying school holidays, “unusually good” British weather and market uncertainty driven by US president Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs.
“Major travel sales events like the launch of P&O voyages two years in advance — which traditionally triggers a surge in bookings — has led many households, particularly families, to delay booking their summer holidays,” he added. “Yet there is renewed confidence across both agents and suppliers.”
Witt says cruise and long-haul trading have remained strong in the first four months of 2025, with cruise sales in the last seven days “up considerably”, representing 30 per cent of bookings and 25 per cent of sales value.
Long haul sales are up circa 20 per cent YoY and the average booking value of a holiday rose considerably in April – up £359. The average booking value currently sits at £4,435 per booking.
Across the Hays Travel group, of which Not Just Travel is part of, Dame Irene Hays announced in late March that an unusually high percentage — over 70 per cent — of families are still to book, yet have expressed their intention to travel.
It comes following the success of Not Just Travel’s Cruise Division training programme, which the company expanded to all 720+ consultants earlier this year.
