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Canny travellers can buy half price long-haul holidays, as tour operators try to recoup money they have spent on flights, and hotels and airlines slash prices to attract cash-strapped holidaymakers.

Bob Atkinson at Travelsupermarket.com says: “Long-haul trips taken in the first half of the year are mostly booked in the autumn, between September and Christmas.

“In 2011, that booking period tailed off amidst all the recession talk, with particular problems in Thailand, hit by the floods, and the Caribbean, where holiday prices have been jacked up by the Government’s Airline Passenger Duty (APD).

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“There is also a reaction to destinations where daily living costs are known to be high – including Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia and the Maldives.

“In many destinations, hoteliers are happy to cut prices, and airlines have been cutting fares in recent weeks too. When both these factors occur at the same time, packages can become great value.”

Atkinson says smaller operators, including Kuoni and Hayes and Jarvis (H&J), are particularly keen to get packages sold for the first half of 2012, to cut risks during uncertain economic times.

Another factor driving prices down is that travellers usually pay in full for packages booked within 12 weeks of departure. But that’s a tall order for anybody still feeling the pinch after the Christmas binges.

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H&J’s New Year sale, running until January 31, offers discounts of up to 42 per cent on two-centre Thailand stays in June; in Bangkok (two nights) and Koh Samui (eight nights at Centara Grand Beach resort) from £799, saving £580, and including ten nights’ B&B and Thai Airways flights.

There’s also a March deal from H&J: eight nights’ B&B at five-star Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas in Krabi starts at £799, saving nearly 50 per cent, including Thai Airways flights ex-Heathrow on March 5.

Kuoni is slashing Thailand prices too with eight nights’ room-only at the Diamond Cliff Resort & Spa in May and June leading in at £799, saving up to £792 per couple.

In the Maldives, H&J discounts of up to 33 per cent include seven nights’ full-board in June at four-star Vilamendhoo Island Resort, a short sea plane trip from Malé, from £859, saving £414, including Emirates flights ex-Gatwick and local transfers.