Travel group sees a zest for luxury holidays

A SPECIALIST holiday firm said Cuba and Mexico were proving popular destinations for Britons as it forecast double-digit growth in summer bookings.

Travelzest, which offers predominantly luxury holidays under brands including The Best of Morocco, Faraway Holidays and The Wow House Company, said the summer season was in line with its winter bookings, which were up 15 per cent.

The owner of Peng Travel, the UK’s biggest naturist holiday operator, said growth was mainly driven by its North American operations, where an improved Canadian economy is increasing business. But in the UK, Cuba, Mexico and Turkey were all selling well.

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The company posted a pre-tax loss for the year to October 31 of £9.9m, compared to a £42,000 loss the previous year, but this included the impact of a company-wide restructuring.

Jack Fraser, Travelzest chief financial officer, said: “Winter bookings showed double digit growth in our last trading update, and we’re expecting something similar for the summer.”

Peng Travel, which organises naturist holidays across Europe for UK travellers, was doing well and had turned around declining sales in the last 18 months, the firm said.

Elsewhere, the company said it did not expect the political turmoil in Egypt to have a significant impact on holidays offered by its brand Tapestry. The country has seen violent protests erupting in the streets for more than a week.

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Chief executive Jonathan Carroll said the company was “watching the situation” but did not have great exposure to the country.

Travelzest has completed a company-wide restructuring, which in the UK involved combining five offices in to one, based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

It posted an 11 per cent rise in underlying operating profits to £6.1m and a 14 per cent increase in revenues to £42.8m.

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