Activity Breaks :: Activitybreaks Features: There’s no such thing as a free lunch

There’s no such thing as a free lunch – but what about free holidays?

In these recession hit times it seems that most people would travel far for a free lunch so what about a free summer holiday?

Recent statistics announced by major travel companies indicate that up to nearly half of all holiday makers were booking later than in 2010, with the National Statistics Office reporting in May 2011 a year on year drop in holidays abroad. Industry analyst GfK Ascent confirm the trend showing summer holiday sales in April down but picking up through May and June. This pick up maybe partly due to the average cost of a holiday dropping by an estimated 4%.

Another recent GfK report showed online retailers gaining a greater share of the business with customers searching far and wide for bargain deals on the web to let them get away to the sun without breaking the bank. Early ski bookings are showing the same trend with the added factor that skiers are less likely to forsake their winter holiday and more likely to forfeit their summer one instead to get their yearly fix of fresh powder, so one leading online company has come up with a unique approach by offering a free summer holiday for every winter holiday booked!

Details of the promotion for their skiing holidays can be found on their website which shows that for as little as a total spend of £450/€500 (that’s just 112 pounds or 125 Euro per person for a family of 4). Clients will automatically receive a FREE 7 night holiday for the same number of people in an Italian alpine resort which can be taken this summer or the next! Some conditions apply.

“This offer is possible because of the unique pricing relationship we have with many ski resorts where we offer flexible dates with ski pass and hire included and in some resorts we own the accommodation directly, hence we can offer a fantastic summer Alpine resort holiday instead of an hypothetical discount” states Managing Director Alexander Reed, “and what really makes this offer unique is that the FREE summer package to an Alpine resort has a list price, for a family of 4, higher than the amount needed to get the free Holiday in the first place.”

It will be interesting to see if other companies follow ActivityBreaks.com lead.