Finding the most cost effective type of holiday is perhaps more important than ever for many of us, given the financial austerity required in these recession hit times.  The holiday market is large and complex, so there is a lot of choice to wade through on the way to finding the product that will suit you and your circumstances best.  However, this choice means plenty of competition in the marketplace, and this fact coupled with a slump in demand for foreign holidays this year means that there are genuine bargains to be found if you have a little time to shop around.

Large operators like Thomas Cook have ongoing relationships with airlines and hotels, and secure the best prices for their services – when putting together package and all inclusive holidays – by block booking well in advance.  This means that the tour operators have to predict demand long before actually selling the packages, and so in times of economic difficulty and falling demand the holiday market becomes a buyer’s market. Check out the Thomas Cook website for cheap holidays.

Last minute deals can be the source of genuine bargains, as the block booked charter flight seats and hotel rooms have already been paid for, and those unused will simply make no money at all if not passed on, even for a nominal price that does not cover base costs.
The internet is a powerful tool when it comes to finding these deals, with comparison websites able to take a lot of the leg work out of shopping around.  It is important to try and look at as many of these sites as you possibly can, as they do not all search in the same places.  Comparison sites can give you a good idea of a rough price level that you should expect for the kind of package or all inclusive holiday that you are after.  You should then take one of the deals that you have found and use this as the basis for haggling.  Try approaching high street travel agents, to see if they can better the online deal that you have found, and don’t be shy about playing different travel agents off each other – take advantage of the current buyer’s market, as it will not last forever.