Travel with Katie Butler: 2023 wrapped-up – the highs and lows

Katie Butler, Total Travel, writes: This year has certainly been a good one, with demand high for overseas holidays throughout the whole year.

Like many, I wish I had a crystal ball to predict what the new year will look like for our industry.

What I do know, is that the big tour operators like Jet2holidays, Tui and Easyjet, to name a few, are predicting huge demand for 2024, and we are ready to welcome you through our doors.

2023 wrapped-up – our highs and lows:

January: We enjoyed our busiest January since opening in 2013, and smashed previous January figures by a mile, as the post Covid bookings kept rolling in.

February: The newly launched airline Flybe ceased trading, again, following its relaunch.

Border Force strikes wreaked havoc and there were lengthy queues at airports.

Turkey and Syria suffered with a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, tragically taking thousands of lives.

March: Cruise lines including P&O and Marella dropped the requirement to be vaccinated.

Heavy snow hit Yorkshire resulting in delays and diversions into Leeds Bradford Airport.

April: Passport panic as the UK Passport Office announced five weeks of strikes.

Holiday booking fraud was featured on mainstream TV as hundreds were found to be booking online through fake agencies.

May: The US finally drops its requirement for international travellers to be fully vaccinated, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that Covid-19 was no longer a global health emergency, marking a symbolic end to the pandemic.

June: Virgin Atlantic bring back a direct summer service from Manchester to Las Vegas, which was dropped in the pandemic.

July: The Spanish government declared an end to the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jet2 plc reported a significantly improved annual financial result, exceeding its pre-pandemic performance.

Flight cancellations to Rhodes and Corfu as the Islands were hit severely with wildfires.

August: The glitch to the NATS (National Air Traffic Services) causes thousands of people to be stranded at UK airports waiting for the start of their holiday, as well as those stranded overseas following the end of their holiday.

September: Total Travel in Ossett was born as we opened our second store.

October: The UK Passport Service announced that passport turnaround times were back to normal.

November: We launched our Christmas toy appeal.

December: We (Total Travel) celebrated our tenth birthday.

We have ended the year on a high – 2023 has been another phenomenal year for many in the industry, including ourselves.

Of course we owe this to our wonderful customers – old and new, who have chosen to book and shop local.

Happy New Year to you all!