Loveholidays boosts Atol numbers as it targets expansion

The company has risen to third in the UK’s top tour operator list behind Jet2holidays and Tui UK

Online travel agent Loveholidays has increased its Atol licence for this summer by one third on 2022 and by almost 80% on 2019.

Loveholidays’ latest Atol, renewed at the end of March, sees the company rise to third in the UK’s top tour operator list behind Jet2holidays and Tui UK with a licence to carry 2,448,261 passengers in the 12 months to March 2024.

That is a 78% increase on Loveholidays’ pre-pandemic Atol of 1,374,812 and up from 1,854,038 a year ago.

The company said that with the addition of its business in Ireland, it is “on track to more than double the number of passengers it will serve this year versus 2019” to more than three million.

Loveholidays chief executive Donat Rétif said: “We invested significantly in our technology platform during the pandemic, making it the quickest and most flexible in the market, and have worked hard to offer competitive deposit and payment options which are so important in the current economic climate.”

He said the OTA tripled its investment in ‘customer experience’ over the last three years.

Rétif added: “The growth reflected in our Atol licence is testament to everything we have done to enhance the experience of our customers and get them the best value for their holidays.”

He revealed plans to recruit 110 new staff to enable expansion “into new markets”, diversify Loveholidays’ product offering and bolster its customer service team.

Rétif argued: “We have a clear vision to become Europe’s number-one package holiday provider. We’re committed to continuing to invest in our technology, product and the overall experience of our customers.”