Wet weather brings surge in bookings
Rainy weather across the UK has prompted a surge in last minute searches and bookings for overseas holidays.
TUI said the heavy rain and unseasonal August weather has brought an increase in bookings for sunnier destinations.
A spokeswoman said shorter breaks of three or four nights are up 150% year on year, with the Balearics proving particularly popular.
"It’s no surprise given the forecast for the next couple of weeks across the Spanish islands is persistent sunshine and temperatures in the late 20s and early 30s," she said.
"This comes after recent research released by the Office of National Statistics reported how more and more people are now opting to take shorter breaks."
Travel search engine Skyscanner says it has also seen a jump in searches in the last fortnight, compared with the previous two weeks.
Searches have risen 22% overall and particularly to Ibiza, Barcelona, Alicante, Faro and Tenerife.
"With the weather showing no signs of letting up it’s no surprise we’ve seen an increase in searches," said Hayley Smith, growth manager at Skyscanner.
Self-catering specialist Novasol said its bookings over the past two weeks were up 26% on the same period last year and 18% on the previous two weeks.
It said Southern Europe is performing particularly well, with bookings up 39% on the same period in 2016.
Sales of last-minute holidays, booked within the last two weeks with departures in the next 4-6 weeks, are up 15% year on year.
General Manager Alex Stuart said: "Poor weather in the UK is clearly having an effect, with many people booking last minute holidays to the sun."
A spokesman for ABTA said the rise would provide a ‘welcome boost to the lates market’.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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