Agents suffer as the heat rises again
An overwhelming majority of travel agents have found it harder to sell holidays during the heatwave, according to the latest TravelMole poll.
Of those who responded to our poll over the past 13 days, 84% said business has become harder in the recent hot weather.
And the bad news is that it’s set to get hotter again, with temperatures in London expected to soar to above 30°C before settling at around the mid 20s going into the weekend. In Manchester highs will reach 25°C, in Cardiff 24° and 20° in Edinburgh.
The Met Office has even issued a "heat health alert" for the east and southeast of England, saying there is a 60% probability of heatwave conditions between noon today and 18:00hrs on Friday in parts of England.
Moving into next week, temperatures will return to more normal levels, possibly bringing a reprieve for travel agents, although temperatures may remain above average in parts of the south and east of England throughout August.
However, it is rain that is more likely to keep customers away from the high street next week as there is a risk of thundery showers, especially towards the west and northwest, where it will probably be quite windy too.
During an earlier heatwave in mid July, online travel agents said last-minute bookings for summer holidays dropped more than 20%, causing some to speculate that the weather will have almost the same devastating effect on the industry as the ash cloud crisis of 2010.
On Holiday Group chief executive Steve Endacott said most major OTAs were reporting a severe decline in bookings, which was unlikely to pick up while the weather remains good.
Today, Thomas Cook issued a trading update saying last year’s strong lates market, due to bad summer weather across much of Europe, had not been repeated this year.
And hotel comparison website www.trivago.co.uk released figures to show that overseas hotel searches dropped by up to 25% during the heatwave, while UK hotel searches increased by up to 41%.
Comparing the 12 days before the heatwave struck on July 13 to the 12 days afterwards, Trivago said searches in Majorca, usually in the top 10 summer destinations, were particularly impacted.
Magaluf was down by 25%, Palmanova by 20%, Alcudia by 17% and Santa Ponsa by 16%.
"Majorca is a popular destination amongst UK holidaymakers and it is unusual to see searches decrease during peak summer season," it said.
Meanwhile, searches for Ayia Napa and Protaras were down 19% and 16% respectively, Salou was down 16% and in the Costa del Sol, Fuengirola and Nerja were down 14% and 13% respectively.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements