TUI and Jet2holidays are currently the top two ATOL holders, but how does this compare to the last eight years? What was the impact of the collapse of Thomas Cook, Monarch and others on the top 20?
We’ve spent some time digging into the ATOL renewal data between 2013 and 2020 and have pulled out some interesting trends. We have also charted the movement in the top 20 on the graph below.
You can use the cursor to pause the graph or move to a specific year.
Here are a few trends we uncovered:
– Consolidation in the market – the top three ATOL holders now hold the licenses for almost half (48%) of licensed passengers. The top 10 now hold the licences for more than two-thirds (68%). Will customers be increasingly drawn to the mega brands, especially if we start to see further smaller operators failing, or will they look to more niche operators?
– Shift to online sales – with the rise of On the Beach, loveholidays, and others, online travel agents have become a more popular way for customers to book holidays. Will this shift online continue to increase or will the complexities surrounding travel such as testing, quarantines and restrictions in destinations mean that customers will seek reassurance from speaking to an agent? We explore this question here.
– Increase in airline holiday companies – the rapid rise of Jet2holidays, the steady growth of BA Holidays and the relaunch of easyJet Holidays means that three of the top six ATOL holders are now airline holiday companies. Will we see Wizz Air and Ryanair follow suit? Take a look at our further analysis of this trend here.
– The number of small ATOL holders has remained flat – although not shown on the graph above, it was encouraging to see that there hasn’t been a decline in the number of Small Business ATOL holders (500 licensed passengers) between 2019 and 2020 and that there were also around 90 ‘new’ ATOL holders in the 2020 renewals. Will we see any innovative new package travel companies emerging from the crisis?
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be delving deeper into these trends and sharing plenty more insights. Keep an eye out here or follow us on LinkedIn.
If you would like more information on how we’ve analysed the data, please get in touch.
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