EAST Lancashire travellers are booking in their hundreds to fly to sunnier climes -- in spite of the September 11 terror attacks.

And in the wake of the World Trade Centre atrocity, which prompted widespread job losses throughout the travel industry, they are telling travel agents: "We won't let Bin Laden win."

A spokesperson for Rossendale-based Airtours, which recently laid off 1,400 staff nationwide, said: "We were definitely affected by September 11, but we are bouncing back.

"We're receiving a lot of inquiries about flights to Florida where people want to take family holidays."

"Dubai was also a popular destination.

"But we've still got quite a way to go," she added.

As the sunseeker season starts in earnest, Paul Astley, who is managing director of Travel Lines in Ainsworth Street, Blackburn, said flight bookings for the last three months of 2001 were actually up on the same period last year.

"There was an impact immediately after September 11, but I think some companies like Boeing exaggerated the situation and used it to lay people off.

"They used it for their own ends.

"We've been recruiting staff and although we haven't quite hit our targets we're up on last year."

But he added that some people said were still avoiding taking flights to the US and the Middle East.

At Brunlea Travel in Hammerton Street, Burnley, manager Scott Harrison said : "We're busy.

"Turnover is up 10 per cent on last year on about the same number of bookings, and people don't seem to want to be steered away from the States or Middle East."

Christine Parkington, manager at Accrington Travel Worldchoice in Peel Street, said: "We have customers going to America this weekend, and people are telling us, 'If we don't go Bin Laden has won.'"

She thought people were used to being vigilant in this country because of past terror attacks in UK towns and cities.

And people were still travelling to the Middle East, she added. "We had customers who went on holiday to Egypt recently and they said they had had a wonderful holiday.

"The service there was excellent and the Egyptian people had been delighted to see them there and made them very welcome."

However, another customer had asked to switch a Tunisian holiday to Tenerife post-September 11, she said.

Good deals which were now available on air fares promised a buoyant summer for the travel trade, Christine added.

At Clitheroe Travel, in Castle Street, director Peter Akrigg said: "There was a short-lived vacuum after September 11, when people seemed to be apprehensive of travelling, particularly long-distance.

"Probably fewer people are actually coming in, but the ones who do are very positive rather than just inquiring.

"They want to travel."

He added that a woman and her daughter who had recently gone ahead with a holiday in Dubai in the Middle East had been very apprehensive before leaving -- "but they said afterwards that had had the best holiday they had ever had.

"It was little quieter there and the service was better.

"And the people were very pleased to see them."