After the Met Office has admitted that it got its prediction of a ?scorcher? this summer wrong, ABTA is predicting an increase in interest in late holiday deals overseas.
p>After the Met Office has admitted that it got its prediction of a ?scorcher? this summer wrong, ABTA is predicting an increase in interest in late holiday deals overseas.Currently Mediterranean countries are basking in a heatwave with temperatures hitting the 40s and the Met office is now saying that August weather in the UK will be unsettled with no cast iron guarantee of the sun after very mixed weather in July.
We still take 60% of our holidays in the UK but British holidaymakers searching for guaranteed sun will be tempted to head off overseas in the coming weeks. Over the last two years Britain suffered some of the worst summer weather on record and ABTA Members saw a surge in bookings in August with people desperate to escape the downpours.
ABTA is advising customers to book now to get the best of the late deals on offer and the widest choice of available holidays. Some of its Members are seeing an increase in business of up to 30% over the last two weeks and 40% compared to the same time last year.
Others are reporting many people looking to travel within a week as they are keen to escape the bad weather.
Mark Tanzer ABTA Chief Executive said: ?The weather does affect business and although we know that poor weather encourages outbound tourism, it?s also true to say that by contrast overseas visitors coming from hot countries enjoy our cooler climate.?
