Travel agents predict this summer’s heatwave in the Mediterranean could lead to a shift in when families take their main fly-and-flop holiday.
Some agents have already reported a rise in bookings for destinations such as Greece in the cooler shoulder season months of May and October, and suggested there were grounds for the government to reconsider the duration and timing of key school holidays.
There have been reports of record high temperatures this summer in destinations such as Italy and Greece, with some parts reaching above 45C in July.
The heatwave has also allowed wildfires to spread further than normal. The area burnt by recent fires in Greece was almost two and a half times the average for the time of year.
TravelTime World director Ashley Quint said the agency had already noticed more families showing interest in Mediterranean holidays during the autumn and spring months to avoid the summer heat.
Shoulder season shift
“We have done a lot more bookings for the shoulder season for Greece,” he said, adding: “There is a general move towards May, April, October, and Christmas. Over the last few years clients have said to us that they don’t want to go to Greece, Cyprus and Turkey in the summer because it’s so hot so we have started to have these sorts of conversations.”
In some cases, with prices for some long-haul holidays comparable with holidays in the Mediterranean this year, the agency has instead sent clients to other destinations in the key school summer holidays such as Antigua or Mauritius.
Quint said shifting the core school holidays earlier might help avoid some of the summer heat issues.
“Moving the school holidays may be a solution, to have more of a July holiday in line with Scotland and a lot of Europe,” he said. “I think you are going to see more people choosing to do different things and go to different destinations at different times of year.”
Deben Travel owner Lee Hunt hoped this year’s heatwave issues would prompt a rethink on school summer holidays.
“We may see more people look to go in May or October half terms. It’s a good opportunity for the government to look at the school holidays and maybe this will make sure they think about it again; they’ve discussed splitting up holidays and having them at different times for years.”
Many schools already operate two-week half terms in the autumn.
“If we could have more flexibility to avoid extreme heat that would make a big difference for our family clients,” said Hunt.
Miles Morgan Travel chairman Miles Morgan said families would continue to go away in the peak summer holidays to the Mediterranean, despite the heat, unless there was a fundamental change in school holiday dates.
School holiday demand
“People travel in July and August because of the school holidays. It’s a misnomer that people will not go away in those months – unless the school holidays change that is not going to change,” he stressed.
The agency’s most popular month for departures is September, once the school holidays are over, largely due to its database of older and retired clients.
“They take advantage of going away in September but fundamentally because the climate is nicer,” added Morgan.
Domestic operators say the heatwave in Europe has also boosted bookings in the UK as holidaymakers look to avoid the weather abroad.
Awaze-owned Cottages.com said both the extreme weather abroad and the fear of travel chaos have been a factor in helping to boost sales for staycations in recent weeks but ultimately said good value pricing was the main driver of late bookings.