Summer holiday bonanza

Holidaymakers are being offered an unprecedented summer bonanza with the cost of foreign packages at a record low.

Traditional Costa destinations in Spain have been particularly badly hit, with sales down by as much as 20 per cent on last year. And across the industry, sales are about eight per cent below last year's level, according to latest trade figures.

Such heavy discounting of Mediterranean packages on the brink of the school summer break is almost unheard of, say industry sources. It

means the price of a holiday is lower than ever after taking account of inflation.

A survey today from Morgan Stanley Credit Card reveals a family of four can save ?1,000 by flying to southern Europe rather than going to one of Britain's top holiday spots. It reveals the average cost of two weeks in Turkey from 30 July is ?1,787, compared-with ?2,755 for a fortnight in the Lake District.

A Mediterranean holiday now costs less than 30 years ago and one operator, Thomas Cook, has even asked staff to dress up in Seventies clothes to emphasise the "historic" level of its prices.

The company's retail director Simon Robinson described the market-as "difficult" and admitted: "We are still not hitting target numbers." The company is selling a seven-night self-catering holiday in Majorca for ?99 - the same holiday cost ?119 in

1979.

The industry is blaming the poor sales on the rise in the number of people travelling independently with budget airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet. Travellers are also using internet sites such as ebookers and lastminute.com to find discounts. Another factor is said to have been the hot weather last month, which convinced many that this summer in Britain would be a repeat of last year's 38C (100F) record-breaker. But perhaps it would be a good time to take advantage of the discounts - forecasters say temperatures in this country will struggle to rise to 19C during the next few weeks.

A spokeswoman for the Association of British Travel Agents said holidaymakers were leaving booking later every year in the hope of picking up bargains. "It's been tough trading and there are certainly plenty of deals around," she said.