NEWS 1
QUARTER-FINAL WIN: England’s success has dented holiday sales
YOU NEED TO KNOW
at a glance The World Cup effect
l Travel agency Winged Boots said demand from England fans had been “crazy”, with flights to Moscow going for between £1,300 and £3,000. This week it was offering private jet packages with semi-final match tickets from £2,495.
l Tui cut prices on more than 2,200 holidays departing until August 7, including 426 that depart on Saturday.
l Thomas Cook was offering discounts on more than 240 departures on Saturday and 270 on Sunday.
World Cup and heatwave are sales double whammy
Lee Hayhurst
lee.hayhurst@travelweekly.co.uk
The England football team’s march to the World Cup semi- finals has seen holiday sales slump but a deluge of pent-up demand is expected as the tournament draws to a close.
The unexpected success of
Gareth Southgate’s young side, coupled with the longest heatwave in the UK since the 1970s, has been a double whammy for holiday sales. While retailers of beer, burgers
and large-screen TVs are enjoying a football-fuelled frenzy, the travel industry has slashed prices as demand has dried up [see box]. England were guaranteed two more games after beating Sweden
on Saturday, with a first final appearance since 1966 at stake if the Three Lions got past Croatia on Wednesday. A loss in the semi- final meant they would play in Saturday’s third-place play-off against the losers of the other semi-final, France or Belgium. Industry analysts GfK saw demand for summer holidays peak before England’s first game of the tournament on June 18 before dropping away steeply. Senior client insight director
David Hope said that while bookings were clearly impacted during England games, the downturn had coincided with the hot weather.
“The start of the hot weather has had an impact on bookings, with both shop and direct [sales] showing negative trends,” he said.
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travelweekly.co.uk 12 July 2018
“Until England get knocked out, holiday bookings are more delayed than lost”
“Typically, we see bookings pick
up after England get knocked out, so they tend to be more delayed than lost.” Holiday price-comparison
website
Icelolly.com said search volumes fell, having peaked in the week prior to the start of the tournament. May was Icelolly’s best month since January, with searches up 8% year on year. The site’s search activity jumped
22% after England beat Sweden, suggesting holidaymakers are planning a getaway either after the semi-final or final.
l Kuoni managing director Derek Jones tweeted: “Get ready for the #SouthgateSurge as soon as England win the World Cup. It will be the biggest bounce since silly putty was invented. #ItsComingHome”
Ross Matthews, Icelolly chief
marketing officer, said the impact of the sunshine was more difficult to assess than the football. “After all, the British public love a holiday abroad regardless of the weather in the UK,” he said. “We always see a strong spike once big football tournaments end and there is still a huge range of deals for the next few weeks.” Ruairidh Roberts, industry head
of travel at Google UK, said the combination of June’s weather and the World Cup had led to a much quieter start to the lates period. He said: “Searches have been
disrupted, so query levels are down, and bookings have been delayed. “We would expect, if the weather changes and England drop out, to see a pretty immediate jump in holiday-related queries in the UK.”
PICTURE: REUTERS/CARLOS GARCIA RAWLINS
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