THOMSON Holidays, the largest British tour operator and one of the biggest in the world, is to invest £1 million in opening an Irish office. Thomson will offer 40,000 seats initially to nine short haul destinations in the Mediterranean and the Canaries and one long haul destination to Florida. All departures will be from Dublin.

Mr Kevin Dufficy, Thomson's general manager for Ireland, said yesterday that the company's vast buying power would enable it to sell the cheapest holidays on the Irish market.

The company will employ 15 people in Dublin and will recruit 50 more Irish people to act as its representatives abroad.

Thomson has been reassuring the local travel trade that it has no plans to open retail outlets in Ireland under its Lunn Poly subsidiary. Mr Dufficy said the attraction of opening an office here is that the Irish holiday market has grown at 10 per cent over the past six years and Thomson sees the potential for more growth.

Thomson Holidays' research showed that Irish holidaymakers have been paying more than they needed to for their holidays abroad, Mr Dufficy claimed.

Thomson Holidays is featuring a range of family holidays designed to cater to the needs of young families and families with children.