Comment by Jeremy Skidmore (www.jeremyskidmore.com)
“Do you know, last August it rained every day in Cornwall, every single day,” said Thomas Cook chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa. “Fantastic!”
Forget swine flu, unemployment, a dire economy, terrorism, bird flu, SARS, the end of the world or anything else you want to throw into the mix, they all pale into insignificance compared to the biggest threat to overseas holidays: sunshine in the UK.
I was told that by a major tour operator when I first came into the industry, long before anyone had heard of most of the things in the paragraph above, and it remains true today.
The single biggest reason why people go abroad on holiday is because it rains rather a lot over here.
Few would dispute the beauty of our countryside or, these days, the cleanliness of some of our coastlines, but beach cricket doesn’t have quite the same appeal in drizzle.
Small wonder, then, that Thomas Cook was this week peddling statistics about the weather that would make the BBC forecast look superficial.
Apparently, the wettest day recorded in the UK saw 279.4 millimetres fall in Martinstown in Dorset on July 18, 1955. Braemar in Scotland is the coldest place in the UK with an average yearly temperature of 7C.
Who cares? Travel companies, and it is vital that they reinforce this message, because all the talk in recent years of global warming could leave some holidaymakers naievely thinking we are going to get a dry summer.
And then they may stay at home and, worse still, remember it next year and decide to stay at home again. This of course, would be the end of the world for the travel industry.
Cue some more statistics from Thomas Cook showing that over half the population don’t believe current predictions for a scorching British summer in 2009. Perception is more important than reality.
Current booking trends show that operators may be worrying unnecessarily. Demand for the overseas holiday remains robust, with people switching to cheaper non-Euro destinations.
Bookings for UK holiday centres such as Butlins have risen, but how much of that is due to the weather? Surely it is more down to the fact that facilities have improved significantly at Butlins and the company provides great entertainment for children. Some families are always going to be attracted to that, regardless of the weather, and would prefer not to fight through airports with their little treasures.
For others, the lure of the foreign holiday remains as strong as ever, for all kinds of reasons. As always, those people who are still able to earn a living will find a way to get away.
