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Travel brochures from decades ago have been discovered, revealing a fascinating insight into the holiday packages of the 1980s and 1990s.
Siesta Holidays in Middlesbrough has been running coach tours around Europe for 44 years, long before cheap flights and Airbnb transformed the travel industry.
To celebrate nearly five decades of providing affordable holidays to people in the North East, management have released the company’s first brochures.
One of the most popular budget deals in 1982 was a 17-day all-inclusive trip for just £69, the equivalent of £345 in today’s money.
In 1989 the company promoted getaways to the former Yugoslavia, Mallorca and Austria.
Siesta Holidays, a coach tour company based in Middlesbrough, has published its first holiday brochures
Siesta Holidays was operating coach tours long before cheap flights and Airbnb transformed the industry.
Siesta Holidays will close next month (above, one of their modern coaches)
As well as travelling on the “superbus”, tourists could also tour the French countryside on SNCF’s new “Holiday Express”.
Five years later a ‘Superbeach 94’ brochure appeared advertising ‘apartment hotels!’ and ‘mobile homes!’ and how children under 19 had ‘free holidays’.
Inside, customers could also find information about travel to Euro Disney Resort and were given the peace of mind that every vacation included “financial security.”
Meanwhile, a 1999 brochure advertised holidays from just £49 and two-week breaks from £69.
Despite the company’s success, executives announced they will close next month as a result of financial pressures.
Director John Harrison said: ‘We have decided to close due to a number of factors.
‘One of the reasons is that we went through difficulties as a result of Covid, which completely shut us down for two years and meant we couldn’t afford to spend on marketing.
In the early 1980s, holidaymakers could get a 17-day all-inclusive trip for as little as £69 (£345 today).
In 1994, children under 19 travelled for free, while a week’s self-catering holiday cost just £49 in 1999.
‘Another reason is that Brexit has made it more difficult to cross the Channel, which increases the costs and time it takes to go on holiday.
‘Nowadays, young people are more likely to travel to continental Europe by low-cost airlines than by bus.
‘Another reason is that our customer base has aged and perhaps one or more members of the group are no longer able to travel for health reasons.’
Despite the closure of the business, John said customers had fond memories of their bus trips to the mainland.
He said: ‘When we announced we were closing, we were inundated with past and present customers telling us how much they had enjoyed their holidays with us.
‘The brochures show how important our work was in providing affordable trips to the continent so families could create lasting memories.’
Pictured are some of Siesta Holidays’ latest customers. The company says it was “inundated with past and present customers” telling it “how much they had enjoyed” their holidays after announcing its closure.