Rutland holidaymakers are booking up "dream" holidays, as far as 2023, in a bid to lift their locked-down spirits and give them something to look forward to, reports Co-operative Travel.

Co-operative Travel, part of The Midcounties Co-operative, has a Co-operative Travel branch in Oakham (Inside Co-operative Food, Burley Road), which like all its branches are currently closed, due to the national lockdown, but are continuing to take holiday bookings and help customers with refunds and re-arranging pandemic-affected trips, via phone, email and social media.

The travel company is seeing a rise in advance bookings for bucket-list style holidays in 2022 and even into 2023, as holidaymakers, who missed out in 2020 and may have recently had Easter 2021 holidays cancelled or postponed too, crave their next adventure.

Natalie Turner, Head of Branches for Co-operative Travel, said: "Despite our branches being closed, we are still available at the end of the phone for our valued and loyal customers and what we are finding is that many of them are booking their holidays a lot further out than usual. In the current climate of uncertainty, they want to have something on the horizon to look forward to, even if it's one or two years away.

"For summer 2021, the biggest selling holiday type, currently, among our customers is staycations, but for departures towards the end of the year and into early 2022, city breaks to New York are selling well, as are winter wonderland holidays to Lapland, as holidaymakers seek to make up for the festive fun they lost in 2020.

"Summer 2022 is also booking up fast with Tenerife, Spain, Turkey and the Greek Islands proving popular. We're even receiving bookings for getaways two years in advance, as tour operators and cruise lines respond to the demand and put their 2023 holidays on sale early.

"Dream destinations such as Maldives and Mexico are top of travellers' wish lists for 2023, as are luxury cruises and safari holidays, as holidaymakers strive for something extra special for their long-awaited escape.

"Booking with a trusted travel agent and a financially secure business, such as Co-op, is more crucial than ever and customers are enjoying the added benefits of our flexible payments options, free changes and cancellations, low deposits and refunds within 10 days, as part of the Coop Holidays Promise**.

"There is still a lot of uncertainty around whether Britons will be able to get away for their traditional summer holiday this year but, with the Covid-19 vaccine being rolled out at pace and infection rates falling, we're hopeful that travel will open up sooner rather than later and we anticipate a rush of late bookings for the summer, when it does. In the meantime, we're here to help customers make exciting holiday plans for the future, giving them something wonderful to look forward to on the other side."

Co-operative Travel has 78 branches across the Midlands and elsewhere. Whilst branches are currently closed for face-to-face visits, customers can still call, email or contact their local Co-operative Travel shop via social media to book a holiday or make an enquiry. Customers can also visit www.cooptravel.co.uk or call 01922 908 389 for more information or to find their local branch.