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Photograph: gtzx/Alamy
Saga, the travel and insurance company for the over-50s, has revealed it made a £61m loss before tax last year after the Covid-19 pandemic prevented it from operating its tours and cruises and forced it to refund customers, Joanna Partridge reports.
The company cut more than a third (36%) of its workforce during 2020, as it moved to slash costs, while it also raised £150m from shareholders in September.
The group is ready to restart its tours and cruises as soon as government restrictions allow and reported that there is significant pent-up demand from customers who want to travel.
In January, Saga became the first UK travel operator to tell cruise and holiday customers that they must be fully vaccinated to travel with them this summer.
Total cruise bookings at Saga for 2021-22 and 2022-23 have reached £154m so far, compared with £128m at the the same point last year, which Saga says is a 20% improvement.
Saga Group’s chief executive, Euan Sutherland, said the company was retaining high levels of customers, with a majority of cruise goers opting to receive vouchers rather than a refund, demonstrating their loyalty to the brand:
Looking ahead, while we are mindful of economic headwinds and the potential ongoing impacts of Covid 19, it is clear that there is significant pent-up demand among our customer base, the vast majority of whom have now been vaccinated and are ready to enjoy post-lockdown freedom.