BIRMINGHAM – package holiday company, Sun4U, has advised customers to get in touch with ABTA regarding making claims. The travel agent collapsed this week, with 1,200 people stranded on holiday in Spain and other destinations.

ABTA say that anyone who has an ATOL protected holiday should be able to continue with their holiday. They recommend speaking to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) or the supplier on their invoice.

Families currently on Costa Brava package holidays bought through Sun4U are reporting that they are having to pay for accommodation again, despite having paid for an all-inclusive holiday. The alternative is to find another hotel. The rates being charged are frequently more than the cheap deals they had initially taken advantage of as well.

Several hotels in Spain say that they have block bookings made by Sun4U but yet have not been paid by the company.

LONDON – Thomas Cook says that it is being forced to offer cheap last minute deals in a bid to snag holidaymakers who are cautious about booking too far ahead.

With many people concerned about job security, holiday bookings quite simply aren’t being made in any great numbers. With spaces free, companies like Thomas Cook and Tui Travel are lowering their prices in a bid to salvage something from the summer.

Thomas Cook is currently offering seven nights in Bodrum in Turkey, flying from Gatwick, in September, for just £174. A similar holiday in Heraklion in Crete is currently just £164.

A recent study into the travel habits of Britons has unsurprisingly revealed an increased tendency to look for cheap deals and package holidays as the recession continues to have an impact on spending habits.

The popularity of package holidays was put down to people looking to establish the cost of a holiday in advance, with all-inclusive deals particularly popular.

Another form of travel that has been popular has been what ebookers has branded the ’soliday’ – people travelling alone due to cash shortages for people they might otherwise holiday with. They say that 15 per cent of their bookings were solo travellers.