Holidaymakers opting for the more traditional summer holiday over short breaks are hitting weekend break operators hard, according to recruiters.

The American Express Global Foreign Exchange Service Currency Index shows that this summer British holidaymakers are shunning European mini breaks in favour of a single, ‘premium’ annual holiday destination.

Ian Brooks, director at Gail Kenny Executive Search, told Recruiter: “The evidence is clearly showing a trend towards giving up short-breaks to preserve a main holiday.

“The overseas tour operators  who are active in both sectors are simply adapting their product mix accordingly, and are continuing to recruit. The same can be said for the low cost carriers (LCCs), who are now an active component of the main summer holiday market. We are seeing strong demand in terms of recruitment for some of the LCC’s.

“Weekend break specialists will be the losers, but many saw the writing on the wall some time ago and have looked to diversify.“

Claire Muge, area manager & West Midlands account manager at Travel Trade Recruitment, adds: “People are cutting back on the number of holidays, but want to make sure that they do get at least one good break.  They appear to be booking more all-inclusives itineraries, non-EU and medium-haul destinations, and cruises are also doing well.  Companies that offer a varied product, or specialise in these itineraries have reported that they have been busy in the last minute booking period. 

“However, those clients that focus on European city breaks are suffering.  In terms of jobs, we may see a migration of those candidates working for companies that have been hit by this trend, to the busier travel companies, as they have been recruiting. 

“In general, the travel recruitment market is picking up, so redeployment is possible.”