Budget brands benefiting at crunch time

Low-cost airlines and budget travel brands are performing well during the ongoing credit crunch, new figures have revealed.

Data compiled by Hitwise have shown that amid the public's rising concerns about the recession, internet traffic to value travel company websites has increased by 5.3 per cent.

Between September 2007 and the same month in 2008, some 7.1 per cent of all tourism cyber-traffic went to the top ten budget vacation firms, up from 6.4 per cent last year.

By booking cheap winter flights from one of Jet2.com's airports in the north of the UK, holidaymakers may find they can afford to put some extra cash towards enjoying their trip once they get there.

Meanwhile, online resource TravelMole reports that the figures also reflected an increase in the number of Britons aged over 45 who were booking their vacations online.

Robin Goad, director of research for Hitwise UK, said: "Demographics are playing a role ... but the economic downturn is also having an impact."

Elsewhere, Francesco Frangialli, secretary-general of the UN World Tourism Organisation, recently stated that despite the ongoing global financial crisis, people will continue to travel.

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