On Friday, it rained for the first time in weeks and I saw several tongue-in-cheek social media posts from travel professionals, asking ‘what is this glorious wet stuff falling from the sky?’
Amusing as they were, the underlying tone was deadly serious. Other than farming, there can be few industries as desperate for rain as travel.
One operator I spoke to this week said the continuing heatwave was killing trading – and he has a domestic arm to his business. Apparently, it’s so hot that people don’t want to leave home, even to travel within the UK. He said fellow suppliers were reporting bookings down by 30%, 40%, 50% and even 60% in the past five weeks compared with last year.
Figures from industry analyst GfK suggest the high street particularly is bearing the brunt of the slump as consumers avoid the shops in temperatures of 30C-plus.
But the stats also showed bookings for the year to date up 2%, with revenues holding, so it’s not all doom and gloom – and it’s also not indefinite. While this summer’s lates market will undoubtedly be impacted, if one thing’s for certain, the weather will eventually turn. The key is not to panic.
Hats off then to The Travel Network Group, which has launched a campaign telling customers its members are ‘Ready When You Are’, and independents like Hays IG member Seaside Travel in County Durham, whose owner is encouraging staff to post personal updates, not just deals, on Facebook to interact with customers while business is slow, so they are front of mind when demand picks up.
Those who remain cool in the heat of the moment will prevail.
Comment from Travel Weekly, 26 July edition