5 2


Shops feel heat as footy bounce hopes deflate


Lee Hayhurst lee.hayhurst@travelweekly.co.uk


Hopes of a post-World Cup holiday sales bounce look to have been dashed as industry data revealed a muted recovery since the tournament ended.


Latest official figures from GfK


showed in-store bookings were faring particularly badly as the UK heatwave intensified this week. Overall sales were up just 2%


last week on the same week last year, but the high street was down 10%, in keeping with a trend seen since the start of the heatwave, while web and call centre sales were up 9%. Summer 2018 bookings to


the end of June were up 6% year on year after March to June saw “solid growth”, according to GfK, although the period saw the high street lose market share. Diane Coleman, of Tickets


Travel in Bexley Village, said: “The heat does have an impact. It’s been quiet in both our shops,


but we are getting some very good enquiries for next year.” The Travel Network Group


this week launched a campaign to stimulate late sales with the strapline ‘Ready When You Are’. Marketing director Si Morris-


Green said: “It’s a really mixed bag. Some of our members say sales have dropped off as a result of the good weather, while others have not seen any impact at all.” Daily GfK figures show high street bookings saw a downturn at the start of the heatwave on June 19 and remained that way throughout the World Cup. Direct bookings were also down, but the data shows the high street falling behind during the heatwave after previously keeping pace throughout 2018. David Hope, GfK senior client


insight director, said: “Passenger bookings this week have started to turn after the World Cup, with summer 2018 up 2%. “This is led by direct bookings,


which are up 9%. Shop bookings are 10% down, with the weather continuing to affect this channel.”


3


Kenwood Travel’s Abbie Sontag and Pete Brudenell


STORIES HOT


Check insurance, urges crash agent


Harry Kemble harry.kemble@travelweekly.co.uk


A travel agent who broke her spine in a car crash in Thailand has urged others to check their insurance after running up tens of thousands of pounds in medical bills.


Abbie Sontag feared she could


have been stranded abroad when she realised after the accident that her travel insurance through her bank had expired and the cost of her operations would not be covered. The 29-year-old, of Kenwood


Travel in Harlow, Essex, also suffered three broken ribs and a ruptured spleen and bowel in the collision when travelling in a taxi between Phuket and Khao Lak in early May. Her boyfriend Pete Brudenell,


Brighton this month: The UK heatwave has affected bookings


34, who is head of marketing at the agency, also needed surgery on his intestines, bowel and spleen. A GoFundMe campaign was launched by Sontag’s family and raised £35,000 towards its £45,000 target in 24 hours. The total now stands at £44,700 thanks to donations from friends,


“Travel insurance is the most vital thing that you can purchase”


family and members of the travel industry, whom the couple publicly thanked this week. Sontag, who returned to the


UK on May 22 and is splitting her shifts between home and the office, urged travel professionals to encourage their customers to buy comprehensive travel insurance before going on holiday. She said: “Travel insurance


is the most vital thing that you can purchase. I would encourage everyone to check [policy details]. “Pete and I were both fit, healthy


and had no pre-existing medical conditions, but if you have an accident like this, which you have no control over, you need insurance to cover you.” Brudenell said the couple had


received messages and donations from “all corners of the industry”. “It was really humbling,” he said.


“We are both going to make a full recovery. I have a slightly different outlook on life these days.”


26 July 2018 travelweekly.co.uk 5


PICTURE: HUGO MICHIELS/LNP/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK


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