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Bank Holiday wash-out sees sales rocket
Travelrepublic.co.uk reports the abysmal weather this Bank Holiday Weekend has led to a 35% increase in sales compared to May Day weekend, when Brits basked in the sun.
On Bank Holiday Monday, when the weather was at its worst, booking levels were up 38%.
Managing director Paul Furner said: “It just goes to show that once us Brits have seen a bit of sun we crave more. When the weather was good over the first Bank Holiday weekend the public’s thoughts were mostly concerned with barbecues and chilling out in the park or the garden.
“But the terrible weather over the second Bank Holiday weekend was a sharp reminder of how unpredictable the weather in the UK is. Having had a taste of a few days in the sunshine, consumers weren’t content to stay in and watch DVDs with the family and went online in their droves to snap up some sunshine overseas.”
Countries outside the Euro-zone saw the biggest increases as the customers attempted to make their money go further. Sales to Turkey were up 80%, Egypt sales were up 122% and the US saw a rise of 95% against sales over the first Bank Holiday weekend.
Furner added: “Traditional short-haul destinations also saw strong increases with booking levels for Spain up by 34% and Greece up 27%. However, as a result of the strong Euro, we are definitely seeing increased popularity for all-inclusive holidays and, at the other extreme, self-catering breaks, as savvy consumers look for ways to make their holiday budgets go a bit further.
By Dinah Hatch
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Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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