UK holidaymakers could pay up to 25 per cent less - and get more days away - for a long haul trip this winter compared with last year’s ‘best deals’ according to the latest trend report from the specialist tour operator Hayes & Jarvis.

Niel Alobaidi, Commercial Director for Hayes & Jarvis said: “Savings on flight and hotel costs negotiated with suppliers keen to fill their seats and beds means that UK tourists booking a winter sun getaway now can easily bag a one-week bargain trip for under £600 per person to popular destinations like Thailand, Mauritius, the Maldives and Antigua. They may even be able to shave an extra £100 more off that price and that’s in the peak long haul season!”

“The price-cutting trend started last spring when sluggish forward bookings made hoteliers anxious to boost their occupancy levels, but it is very unusual to see this continue into the peak winter sun period. It is even more surprising to find airlines offering lower prices – and the exclusive deals that we have been able to pass on over the last few months mean that our recent booking levels have been well up on the same period in 2008.”

But while the trend for late bookings has continued apace, with Thailand and the Indian Ocean destinations leading the top ten list of destinations to benefit from price cuts, Hayes & Jarvis has also revealed a growth curve in the number of holidaymakers buying next year’s summer holiday early - effectively reversing the trend of the last 12 months when fewer holidays were booked more than six months before travel.

Niel Alobaidi said that resorts in the Indian Ocean, Caribbean Islands and USA were leading the way. “This does indicate that confidence is returning to the market and people are keen to take advantage of some quite lucrative early booking incentives.”

In its new Unmistakable Value Collection, Hayes & Jarvis is offering savings to early bookers for 2010 of up to £650 per person on some of its most exclusive five-star properties. For example, a 10-night, half board holiday at one of the top resorts in Mauritius, the five-star Sugar Beach, costs from £1,549pp.

Meanwhile pre-Christmas breaks to the USA are “selling like hot cakes” as sterling has regained much of the value it lost against the dollar at the beginning of the year. Over the past month the iconic New Yorker has been the best selling hotel for Hayes & Jarvis worldwide, while its themed resorts in Las Vegas account for a further five places in the top twenty.

To satisfy demand for the Las Vegas experience, the operator has just added three more themed resorts: Monte Carlo Resort, Paris Las Vegas and, most notably, the music-themed Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. This offers music fans the opportunity to see concerts by Van Morrison, the Pet Shop Boys and Bob Dylan this autumn. Three night packages to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas start from £859 per person.

Hayes & Jarvis best sellers for winter sun trips (based on bookings made over the past four weeks):
1. Thailand
2. The Maldives
3. Mauritius
4. Sri Lanka
5. Kenya
6. Dubai
7. Egypt
8. New York
9. Las Vegas
10. Orlando.