An estimated 1.4 million fewer summer sun and winter holidays will be available in 2008 due to consolidation between the major tour operators.

Phil Smyth, chief operating officer for Lateholidays, said: “Put bluntly, the merger of Thomas Cook and MyTravel as well as Thomson and First Choice means there will be less flights and hotels for families to choose from in the summer ahead.”

Since coming together large tour operators have already stripped out over supply to short-haul favourites like mainland Spain and the Balearics, according to the agency group.

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Cabin crew at Virgin Atlantic have voted for two 48-hour strikes in the New Year forcing the airline to cancel 12 flights from Heathrow. The walk-outs are planned for January 9 and 16 in a dispute over pay.

*On January 9 one outbound flight to New York (JFK), one return flight to Chicago and a return flight to Boston will be cancelled.

*On January 10 one return flight to New York (JFK), one return flight to Chicago and a return flight to Boston will be cancelled.

Spain Portugal and Turkey doing particularly well for 2008, according to ABTA as it released an end of year set of holiday trends.

Almost 75 million visits abroad were taken by UK resident in 2007 and while trips to Europe have broadly stayed the same, travel to the US rose by 4% while the biggest growth is in long haul travel, up by about 13%.

Destination Hot Spots for 2008 include China with the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing; Singapore, which will host the first Formula 1 night race on September 28; and Australia, due to blockbuster films and sporting events such as the Rugby League World Cup in October.

Other places highlighted by ABTA include Colombia due to improved political stability combined with the release of Mike Newell’s film of Gabriel Garcia Maquez’s novel Love in the Time of Cholera, which has been filmed in Cartagena, widely thought of as the most beautiful city in South America.

ABTA cautioned: “Although Colombia’s has many stunning areas, not all of its problems have been resolved and it is important for anyone planning a trip to keen a close watch on the Foreign Office’s travel advice.”

IPM travel is anABTA financial failure, our best travel/holiday tip would be to book direct with the UK tour operators that way you have less chance of getting caught up in the mess that is a TRAVEL AGENT financial failure…

If your considering booking a holiday one to avoid may well be holiday.co.uk our inside source told us that they had a very poor trading year. With the majority of their previos customers now booking direct with the tour operators.  holiday express worldchoice

 So there you have it with a spate of ABTA failures so far this month could this be another one we shall have to wait and see.