Manchester-based online holiday retailer On the Beach Group plc said on Thursday it has responded to the “unprecedented opportunity to take market share” following the failure of Thomas Cook Group by more than doubling its offline marketing spend.

In a trading update for the four months to January 31, 2020, in advance of its annual general meeting to be held today, On the Beach Group said: ” … there exists an unprecedented opportunity to take market share in the beach travel market following the failure of Thomas Cook Group (TCG).

“On the Beach has responded to this opportunity, more than doubling offline marketing spend to drive awareness of the On the Beach brand.

“Management expects that a proportion of this investment will payback in the second half of the financial year.

“Alongside this exceptional marketing spend, the Group has also focused on price competitiveness to continue to drive long term market share gains. 

“The reduction in overall capacity in the market following the TCG failure has led to significant year on year (YOY) seat price increases for all departures.

“This seat capacity shortfall is further accentuated by continuing delays in Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft returning to active service.

“As a result, seat pricing is not anticipated to fully normalise in the current financial year.

“Despite the significant increase in the prices of holidays across the market and the seat capacity constraints, the immediate actions taken by the group to capture market share are helping to drive strong sales growth for summer 2020 departures.

“The group’s international sites have continued to deliver an efficient performance YOY and the board continues to evaluate opportunities to enter new source markets.

“The rollout of Classic Package Holidays continues and as at 31 January 2020, more than 2,300 agents were signed up to the portal. 

“The group will report interim results for the six months to 31 March 2020 on 12 May, 2020.”

On the Beach Group plc CEO Simon Cooper said: “The actions we have taken in the first four months of the new financial year have accelerated our market share gain and mean we are well prepared to take advantage of capacity returning into the market.

“Our incremental investment into offline marketing activity is helping to drive significant growth in awareness of the brand nationally and we are delighted with the performance of the Classic Package brand in its first year post launch.

“We look forward to providing a more detailed update on progress at the group’s interim results.”