Long haul holidays have fallen out of favour

The company, which has been forced to cut costs in the face of a global downturn in tourism, said it was confident about its prospects for the year after losses fell in the six months to April.

First Choice said it made a loss before goodwill of 44.1 million pounds ($72.9 million) in the six months to April 30, compared with a 49.5 million pound loss in the same period of the year before.

Bookings were up 15% since the beginning of May, while bookings over the whole six months were down 2%.

Niche holidays

The global travel industry has been hit hard by a fall-off in lucrative long-haul holidays since the 11 September attacks, with many holidaymakers opting for short city breaks instead.

First Choice has managed to avoid some of the worst of the downturn by focusing on higher margin niche holidays such as sailing, trekking and golfing.