October 2026 marks the twentieth anniversary of the sad demise of Laskarina Holidays which announced it's impending closure in October 2006 with operations finally ceasing the following month once the last clients had completed their travels.
Founded in 1976 by Ian and Kate Murdoch the company was based in Wirksworth, Derbyshire but had moved to Bolney, West Sussex by the time of the closure. The Murdochs had a great love of Greek islands and named the company after Laskarina Bouboulina a renowned heroine and navy commander who fought in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire in the 1820s.
Laskarina prided themselves on a very personal service with guests being welcomed to their accommodation with a reusable linen goody bag filled with arrival essentials such as bread and jam, tea and coffee and a very welcome bottle of wine. The bag could then be used for shopping during your stay - saving on the use of plastic carrier bags. A rep was always based on the island (at least in my experience) and would hold a welcome meeting the day after arrival to provide a mine of information about the island and to give details of an organised trip/picnic as an optional extra.
They did have a web site (though, as I recall, you couldn't actually book your holiday online) but they did have a forum Laska Chat which was full of useful information. One of the moderators had the unusual name of Daffy (who I assume was none other than Triantafyllos Psaras (known as Daffy) now of Nissia Holidays. I think I did ask a few questions on the forum - using painfully slow dial up internet.
I personally went on three Laskarina holidays Lipsi, Halki and Tilos and was considering where to choose next from their extremely tempting brochure when news of the closure came through. Press reports at the time cited the rise of internet bookings and budget airlines as the reason for closure. It was feared that a small loss in 2006 could become a bigger loss in 2007 and Ian Murdoch was quoted as saying that it was better to close down whilst still able to pay everyone. The sad death of Kate Murdoch in 2005 was said not to be a factor in the closure decision.
Could Laskarina have survived? Other holiday companies have adapted to the rise of the internet and budget flights. Greek island specialists such as Nissia, Olympic and Sunville continue to offer the magic of the islands twenty years later. We will never know now.
What memories do you have of Laskarina? Did they make the right decision to close while still solvent? Could they have adapted to new technology whilst still keeping their personal service intact?
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