Travel agents have mixed feelings about this week’s cold snap, which is expected to send temperatures plummeting.
A combination of freezing temperatures, biting winds and possible snow showers in both the southeast and the east have been predicted by the Met Office as winter once again gets a grip on the UK.
However, while some travel agents are welcoming the weather for driving sales, others are concerned consumers will stay away from the shops.
The Co-operative Travel director of retail distribution Trevor Davis said there was a 20% increase in online sales during the last bout of cold weather in January, with shops then reporting a 20% rise in sales in the seven days following the freeze and culminating in the company’s most successful day’s sales ever.
He added: “Bookings were slow at the turn of the year as holidaymakers stayed at home, but as soon as the snow and ice disappeared we saw a huge influx of shoppers.
“Last summer’s miserable weather, coupled with the extremely cold start to the year, has seen more people look for some guaranteed summer sun in 2010, and the predicted cold weather will drive sales further.”
An ABTA spokeswoman added: “The weather in our country is a key reason as to why we are a nation of travellers, even though economically we may not be that much better off than last year.”
However, Directline Holidays chief executive Maria Whiteman said the snow in January did not help online sales.
She believed many potential customers who were unable to get to work also had their children off school, and were spending time looking after them rather than being online.
The weather also caused practical issues for Croydon-based Directline with staff sent home early one night, losing three hours of trading, and some unable to get into work on certain days.
Speaking before this week’s forecast, she said: “We are hoping to see a (year-on-year) upturn at the beginning of February because that’s when we had the big dump last year.”