SUMMER holidays for as little as £19 per person per night in Málaga are available in July, but many travel industry experts are advising customers to enjoy the bargains while they can.

Analysts believe that one of the knock-on effects of the merger announced this week of MyTravel and Thomas Cook to form Britain’s biggest tour operator could be fewer “ridiculously cheap” holiday offers from next year.

Traditionally, the “Big Four” operators — Thomson, Thomas Cook, MyTravel and First Choice — have battled it out to offload unsold packages at the last minute, sometimes offering bargains in advance to get sales going.

But this week’s merger, which is expected to be formally concluded in June, now means that there will be less competition, with a much tighter package holiday market and fewer desperate sales at head-line-grabbing prices.

As we went to press, the £19 per person per night in Málaga for a week in June was on offer from www.jet2holidays.com, an online-only travel provider. Meanwhile, www.travelzoo.co.uk had a “massive travel sale” with a week in Spain in June from £20 per person per night. Both deals included flights and were self-catering.

A spokesman for a major travel company, who asked not to be named for fear of upsetting customers, said: “Personally I believe [the merger] will even out pricing. One competitor fewer is a good thing. It will stop all the crazy price wars.”

A spokesman for the Association of British Travel Agents, which represents major operators and agents, said that cheap deals were increasingly becoming thin on the ground: “Discounting is a sign that the travel industry has got its sums wrong.”

The combination of MyTravel and Thomas Cook will create an annual passenger base of about 6.2 million, overtaking Thomson Holidays, which has been the market leader in package holiday sales since 1974, on 5.5 million.

Derek Moore, chairman of the Association of Independent Tour Operators, a trade organisation representing smaller travel companies, said: “Prices will strengthen as there will be less need for discounting, which is good for tour operators but not passengers.” However, he does not believe that prices will increase dramatically across the board as robust competition from budget carriers means that there is still a tough travel market.

The reason for a probable end to widespread £99 offers — which have become a feature of summer sales in recent years — is that MyTravel and Thomas Cook are expected to fly one full plane in place of two that might have been half-full in the past. This “consolidation”, along with other changes, will help to bring £75 million in savings each year.

The result could be a final summer of bargains. This summer Manos has a week at the two-star Hibiscus apartments in Turkey from £165, Libra has a week at the Angeliki Studios in Crete from £214, and Thomson has a week at the four-star Silver Beach, also on Crete, from £169.

However, some experts believe great deals will always be around. Stephen Dunk, managing director of Holidays on TV, a programme connected to www.teletextholidays.co.uk, said: “I think there will always be a bit of discounting, particularly for trips in May and September.”

Grab them while you can

www.jet2holidays.com — £134pp at the THB Ibiza Mar Aparthotel on Ibiza from Leeds/Bradford in June, based on four sharing.

www.travelzoo.co.uk — £144pp at Mar y Apartments on the Costa Almeria in Spain leaving on June 26 from Leeds/Bradford, based on four sharing, self-catering.

Manos (0870 7530530, www.manos.co.uk) — £165pp at the Hibiscus Apartments in Turkey from Gatwick leaving on May 7, based on two sharing, B&B.

Libra (0871 2268704, www.skyhols.com) — £214pp at the Angeliki Studios in Crete, flights from Gatwick on May 1, based on two sharing, self-catering.

Thomson (0870 5502555, www.thomson.co.uk) — £169pp at Silver Beach in Chania, Crete, from Gatwick on May 14, self-catering.

All prices for a week and correct as we went to press. Even cheaper deals are likely for those who wait until June, when operators seek to shift unsold holidays.

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