There is always a price at which the mass-market books late holidays (two to three weeks before departure) and currently that seems to be at around £150 to £180 per person for one week including flights, transfers and self-catering accommodation. These prices do not only apply to Greece but also to Turkey, Spain and Portugal. The travelling public should not, however, believe that at that price the tour operator is making a profit. On the contrary, at such a price the operator is losing several hundred pounds and is only selling at such a low rate because it is better to earn something rather than have a flight seat and what we call ‘committed’ accommodation (accommodation which the operator pays for whether it is filled or not), go empty.
To give you an idea, the actual cost of a charter flight seat from Gatwick to Corfu, including airport taxes and fuel surcharges, is in the region of £260 return. So, you can see the scale of the loss when operators are selling at £150 which, remember, includes accommodation, transfers and all other overseas costs.
Sunvil has not changed its policy as a result of all the exaggerated reports in the press concerning a return to the drachma and the imminent collapse of the Eurozone. Sunvil confidently believes that Greece will remain within the Eurozone and the Eurozone will not collapse. Traditionally, for very late bookings, Sunvil sells at about £340 to £360 per person self-catering for a week which is a fair price for a good product and we believe that selling for almost nothing, as many other operators do, does enormous harm to the industry and to the destination countries because it devalues and debases them.
Noel Josephides
Managing Director
Noel Josephides, Managing Director of Sunvil, has run the company for over 40 years. He's expanded it from its original base of holidays to Cyprus into Greece, Italy/Sicily, Portugal/the Azores/Madeira, Scandinavia, Latin America and Africa - plus more unusual places such as Romania, which Sunvil supports via its environmental initiatives. "I would have been bored with just one destination", he says, with typical understatement. A real advocate of sustainability in tourism, and of delivering benefits to host countries, he plays a very active role in the travel industry and champions consumer protection and high standards. He has an enquiring mind and a passion for music and reading, although time to follow these pursuits can be difficult to find. He will be running the 100m at the Nemean Games, in the Peloponnese region of Greece, on 23rd June this year. "It's such a brilliant idea, to recreate the ancient Pan-Hellenic Games and to encourage participants worldwide to run, barefoot, in the footsteps of those who ran over 2,000 years ago", he says. "Winning is not important - participation is what counts."
Not having had a pay rise for two years and with costs of everything skyrocketing I am, like many, really feeling the pinch. Therefore I shall definitely be looking for a last minute bargain for myself and my 16 year old niece who will be experiencing her first trip to Greece.
However there is no question – I shall be looking to Sunvil. I am a firm believer in “you get what you pay for” and the quality of Sunvil holidays – and their reps – is much higher than the mass market high street operators. With the demise of Tapestry, Laskarina and other Greek specialists in recent years, Sunvil is now always my first port of call.
I am looking forward to my holiday in Greece – wherever it may be – and showing my niece the delights of this wonderful country.
As a travel agent who racks Sunvil brochures I find Liz’s comments extremely pleasing. As Liz stated you do get what you pay for and with Sunvil you are looked after and do get a more authentic Greek holiday experience. Thanks also to Noel for sharing this with us and the wider travelling public, some will always book on price but I like to know my clients are being taken off and will come back happy. Happy clients are the best PR any travel company have and are more likely to be repeat bookers.