‘Two weeks from £69 and under-19s go free!’ Old travel brochures unearthed that reveal how Brits enjoyed 1980s and 90s package holidays

Decades-old travel brochures have been unearthed revealing a fascinating glimpse into package holidays from the 1980s and 90s.

Siesta Holidays in Middlesbrough has been operating coach holidays around Europe for 44 years – long before cheap flights and Airbnb transformed the travel industry.

To celebrate its almost five decades providing affordable holidays for people in the North East, bosses have released the company’s earliest brochures.

One of the most popular budget offers in 1982 was an all-inclusive 17-day trip for just £69 – the equivalent of £345 in today’s money.

In 1989 the firm advertised getaways to the former Yugoslavia, Majorca and Austria. 

Siesta Holidays operated coach holidays long before cheap flights and Airbnb transformed the industry

Siesta Holidays is set to close next month (above, one of its modern coaches) 

As well as travelling by ‘supercoach’, tourists could also whizz through the French countryside on the new SNCF ‘Holiday Express’.

Five years later came a ‘Superbeach 94’ brochure that advertised ‘apartment hotels!’ and ‘mobile-homes!’ and how children under 19 got ‘free holidays!’.

Inside customers could also find information on trips to Euro Disney Resort and were reassured that all holidays included ‘financial security’.

A 1999 brochure, meanwhile, advertised breaks from just £49 and two weeks from £69.

Despite the firm’s success, bosses announced they will be closing next month as a result of financial pressures.

Director John Harrison said: ‘We have decided to close due to a number of factors.

‘One of the reasons is that we struggled as a result of Covid, which shut us down completely for two years and meant we couldn’t afford to spend on marketing.

Holidaymakers could bag an all-inclusive 17-day trip from just £69 (£345 in today’s money) in the early 1980s

Children under 19 travelled for free in 1994 while a one-week self-catering holiday cost from just £49 in 1999

‘Another reason is that Brexit has made it more complicated to get across the Channel, which adds to the costs and time it takes to go on holiday.

‘[Now,] young people are more likely to travel via low-cost airlines to mainland Europe than by bus.

‘Another reason is that our client base has gotten older and maybe one or more of the party can’t travel anymore for health reasons.’

Despite the company closing, John said customers had fond memories of coach trips to the continent.

He said: ‘When we announced we were closing, we were inundated with past and present customers telling us how much they had enjoyed going on holiday with us.

‘The brochures show just how vital we were in providing affordable trips to the continent for families to make life-long memories.’

Pictured are some of Siesta Holidays’ recent customers. The firm says it was ‘inundated with past and present customers’ saying ‘how much they enjoyed’ its holidays after it announced its closure