Operators use voucher sites to shift stock after UK weather affects sales
Holiday deals on voucher sites have increased by two thirds this year as tour operators try to shift unsold holidays due to the UK heat wave.
Vouchercodespro.co.uk said sales and deals from holiday companies on its site had increased by 67% compared to the same month last year, with great on-line deals from lowcostholidays, Thomson and Thomas Cook.
It also said overseas holiday searches have dropped by 38% and UK holiday searches have increased by 96%.
George Charles, spokesman for www.vouchercodespro.co.uk said: "This year, in the absence of royal weddings or any major sporting events such as the Olympics, holiday companies were expecting a good summer in terms of sales so it is fairly surprising that a single heat wave can have such a huge impression on the UK holiday market."
Expedia.co.uk claims to have seen a dramatic rise in domestic beach bookings compared to July last year with Bournemouth seeing a 119% increase in bookings and Eastbourne a 100% rise.
Online travel agents recently reported last-minute bookings for summer holidays abroad had dropped more than 20% due to the heat wave, 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 he said was unlikely to pick up while the weather remains so good, see previous story.
Diane
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