UK heatwave hits booking volumes Juliet Dennis


Summer sales have suffered a setback due to the bank holiday heatwave coinciding with the start of the school half-term holiday, according to the trade. Travel agents said sales


typically slowed during half-term but were likely to have been hit further by the extreme heat, with family sales flat or down on last year for key summer months. Inspire Europe chief executive


Lisa Henning predicted a pick-up after half-term but admitted: “The scorching weather, combined with the half-term break, has effectively impacted sales for the last week.” Dawson & Sanderson commercial and corporate director Judith


Alderson said: “The family market remains slow but given the heatwave over the bank holiday weekend we did expect this may be the case.” She credited the “vast amount


of late offers” and low prices for boosting May and June sales but said free child places were the main driver for family summer bookings. Holiday Village managing director


Paula Nuttall highlighted price messages as key for summer sales. “Price is 100% going to stimulate the market; the uncertainty is still there and those on strict budgets want to and will travel at the right price,” she said. The Travel Network Group chief


operating officer Stephanie Slark said July and August sales remained softer year on year. “Family bookings remain relatively


EES bank holiday delays raise fears for summer peak


Travel Weekly reporters


The EU’s biometric Entry/ Exit System (EES) continues to cause delays at border control, with France suspending EES registration at the Port of Dover on Saturday after it led to hours- long queues and the European airports association describing the situation as “deteriorating”. Agents reported having to reassure


and advise customers on the extent of delays more than six weeks after EES entered full operation on April 10. The Whitsun bank holiday


marked the first peak travel period 4 28 MAY 2026


since then, leading French authorities to temporarily suspend the system at Dover on Saturday following a request from the port as travellers faced delays of two-and-a-half hours to complete processing. More than 84 self-service


machines installed at Dover for registering biometric data – photo and fingerprints – remain out of use due to technical problems. Port of Dover chief executive Doug Bannister said: “We’re all frustrated.” European airports association


ACI Europe reported “the situation is deteriorating”, telling Travel Weekly: “The queues are up to 3.5 hours


at peak traffic times, according to a survey we conducted among 45 airports in 20 EU states on May 26. “Airports which previously did


not report excessive waiting times are now doing so despite the extensive use of partial suspension of EES.” Greece remains the only EU


member state to suspend biometric registration for UK passport holders – a policy tourism minister Olga Kefalogianni confirmed this month and which industry figures say has significantly boosted Greece bookings. Advantage Travel Partnership


chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said reported “a clear and consistent uplift


The scorching


weather, combined with the half-term break, has impacted sales for the last week


flat and more price-driven. Couples and groups are outperforming and driving overall growth. Enquiries are there, but conversion remains slow,” she said, adding UK sales rose for the group’s homeworking arm last week. Travel By Hannah owner Hannah


Porter also reported some families considering UK summer breaks as a “back-up plan” but stressed most were looking to go abroad. She insisted: “Demand is still


there for the right value options.” John Sullivan, commercial director


at Advantage Travel Partnership, noted average booking values last week were “slightly ahead” of the same week last year, adding: “[This] suggests customers are still buying based on the value proposition, rather than the cheapest price.” Agents reported more-robust sales


of long-haul holidays and cruises. Bolsolver Cruise Club director


of sales and operations Fran Hurst pointed to “strong interest in family-friendly Mediterranean holidays and all-inclusive” breaks. Lisa McAuley, managing director


of World Travel Holdings UK, insisted: “This summer’s pricing has been particularly good, so we are seeing people take advantage of that.”


Registration for EES has caused queues of ‘up to 3.5 hours’, according to ACI Europe


in demand” for Greece last week. She called on the EC to “pause EES for the summer”, saying: “It’s going to be really difficult for some destinations to manage at pinch points.” Association of Atol Companies


advisor Alan Bowen agreed, saying: “An awful lot of last-minute holidays are available to everywhere but Greece.” Dawson & Sanderson commercial


and corporate director Judith Alderson said “clients remain concerned about reports of queues at airports”, while Travel Village Group chief executive Phil Nuttall said “Greece has played a blinder”.


travelweekly.co.uk


PICTURE: Shutterstock/Ivan Marc


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