A campervan rental business in the UK provides stark contrast to the fortunes of Thomas Cook

(TRAVPR.COM) UK - November 22nd, 2011 - The recent plunge in the share price of Thomas Cook, caused by news of more debt concerns, seems to be the story across much of the travel industry at the moment. However, one travel company in London is bucking that trend with growth of 150% in the last year.

Spaceships Campervans only started operating in the UK in the summer of 2009, but has experienced phenomenal growth as holidaymakers look for better value alternatives.

John Morley, Head of Spaceships UK thinks that price isn’t the only factor influencing people’s holiday decisions:

“In our market we have found that value for money is an important consideration for most of our customers, but it isn’t the most important thing. What we have seen is that having a holiday that offers a sense of freedom is the key ingredient. The wealth of travel information online has opened a lot of people’s eyes to what’s out there in the UK and Europe. Organising your own holiday now seems a whole lot less scary than it used to be and hiring a campervan – where you can do something different each day – is a natural extension of that.”

“I hear a few commentators suggesting that the tourism industry will never recover, but I think we’re just seeing a change in what customers want. The standard package holiday has had its day so our industry needs to look at how it can create more flexible and original travel options. It is only these organisations which will be taking the travel industry forward when the economy picks up.”

Spaceships Campervans is a UK subsidiary of the Spaceships Group which is one of New Zealand’s major travel and tourism operators. The Spaceships Group operates the Spaceships Campervan product in New Zealand, Australia and the UK/Europe as well has the Stray hop-on hop-off bus network in New Zealand and Laos.

For more information on this topic or to schedule an interview with John Morley, please email info@spaceshipsrentals.co.uk or call +44 (0) 208 573 2300.

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