Britons head overseas to escape the rain

The recent wet weather has been welcomed by travel companies, who have reported a sharp rise in holiday bookings.

Persistent wet weather across Britain has led to a surge in bookings for foreign holidays, according to tour operators.

Last month was the wettest June since records began in 1910, while a month’s worth of rain is expected to fall in parts of Northern England, the Midlands and Wales today.

The downpours have been welcomed by holiday companies, however, and both Thomas Cook and On the Beach, the online travel agent, have reported a rise in bookings.

On the Beach claimed that bookings for trips to European destinations had risen by 20 per cent during the past fortnight, compared with the same period last year.

Thomas Cook also said bookings had increased, with Spain and Greece proving particularly popular.
“We’ve definitely seen a rise in bookings as the weather worsens, with our research showing one in five people are influenced to book a holiday by the disappointing British weather,” said Lydia Dearden from Thomas Cook.


A spokesman for Thomson said it had seen a 20 per cent rise in searches for holidays last month, compared with June 2011. He added that the Balearics, Greece, Tunisia and Morocco were attracting the most interest from British travellers.

ABTA, the travel association, recently reported that up to 13 million Britons would be heading abroad during July and August, with 90 per cent of those heading to traditional Mediterranean destinations.

The eurozone is thought to be finding favour thanks to the strength of the pound against the euro – British holidaymakers can expect to get at least 10 per cent more for their money compared with last summer.

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