Trade monitors wildfire spread in France and Spain

The trade is closely monitoring devastating and unprecedented wildfires in France and Spain as fears rise they could spread farther due to another heatwave this week.

Firefighters have been battling to control fires near Bordeaux, Madrid and Valencia, with temperatures expected to reach 39C in both countries today (Wednesday, July 29).

More than 300,000 people have already been evacuated across France and Spain, including tourists in the Atlantic coastal parts of the Gironde and Landes region in southwest France. Airports remained operational but some hotels and campsites were closed.

Travel firms said they were keeping a watching brief.

A Hays Travel spokeswoman said: “We’re not seeing significant customer disruption but we continue to actively monitor the situation and work closely with tour operator partners.”

Kirker Holidays was also “very closely monitoring the situation”.

Senior manager and head of marketing Patrick Millar said: “We are lucky to have very few clients affected. July and August are actually two of our quieter months, as most Kirker clients visit cities in spring and autumn, so there are fewer customers away right now and we don’t have anyone in either Bordeaux or Madrid right now.

"Nonetheless, we are very closely monitoring the situation with regards to upcoming bookings, and we will be speaking personally to any agents and clients feeling anxious about future bookings to France or Spain. Every holiday is a very personal experience and we have learned that there is no blanket policy that will suit everyone."

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises has made “small modifications to docking spots out of an abundance of caution” but not cancelled any cruises, adding its programme was “largely unaffected”.

A spokesperson said: “It is a highly fluid situation and, if necessary, our teams on the ground will make adaptations to the programme, prioritising the safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew.” 

CroisiEurope said the fires would only have an impact on operations if there were road closures or traffic affecting excursions, such as to Arcachon Bay in southwest France.

Riviera Travel said that as of July 27, none of its tours or river cruises had been affected by the wildfires in France, Spain, or Portugal, and similarly, Viking said there was “no impact”  to itineraries in the region and they were “monitoring the situation closely” .

Peter Burden, finance director of Europe camping specialist Venue Holidays, said the Aito operator was unaffected by current fires but had to refund more than 100 clients after a fire swept through Yelloh! Village Le Brasilia campsite in France on July 2, where it had 20 families staying at the time.

“We refunded everyone and had to cancel all holidays up to this weekend (July 25-26), when the site reopened,” he said.

“The impact for us was reasonably limited. We feel we got off quite lightly but it is probably something we will have to get used to. It will probably happen again somewhere else.”

He predicted some campsites would introduce restrictions such as on barbecues to avert potential fires.

In Ireland, the Irish Travel Agents Association (Itaa) issued advice to holidaymakers to be vigilant, monitor official advice and be ready to adapt their travel plans if they stay in destinations in southern Europe where there are wildfires.

The association highlighted the risk of road closures, evacuations and changes to transport services as a result of fires and said holidaymakers should contact their travel agent or tour operator if their travel plans are affected by fires. It also urged holidaymakers to keep their mobile phones charged, switched on with roaming enabled for emergency alerts and ensuring they have appropriate travel insurance cover.