Mediterranean destinations were placed on high alert last week as wildfires continued to rage across several countries in the southern Europe, with some of the UK’s major tour operators opting to cancel holidays to Rhodes – which was hit the most severely – as blazes continued to spread.

Yet according to chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership Julia Lo Bue-Said, citing feedback from members, the recent warm weather hasn’t yet resulted in clients switching their focus to cooler destinations.

The Travel Network Group group marketing director Ross East, meanwhile, told TTG he believed consumers were taking longer to commit to bookings due to national media coverage of the situation in the Med, adding they weren’t proactively raising climate change as an issue when speaking to members.

But frontline travel agents have told TTG they’ve seen clients’ behaviour shift as they become more aware of climate issues. This trend, they think, is being exacerbated by recent events such as the heatwave and wildfires in southern Europe, with some agents stating these weather events could shape the future of peak summer booking trends.

Wake-up call

"Every summer we see wildfires – but it’s not just about the heat; there’s flash flooding, rising sea levels – it’s an existential threat," said Karen Simmonds, chief executive and founder of Balham’s Travel Matters.

Simmonds predicted consumers will begin to choose different holiday destinations during the summer as the ever-increasing temperatures in the Mediterranean make trips abroad "too uncomfortable".

Not Just Travel homeworker Annika Nickson, meanwhile, is convinced recent wildfires in Greece will have an impact on consumer confidence when it comes to booking Mediterranean holidays.

"Even though [the wildfires] are only affecting people in certain parts of Rhodes, people are worried it’s going to impact their holidays, even if they’re not the ones in the affected areas," Nickson said.

She said customers are "wary" of paying a deposit on a holiday and are holding off from booking to see how the extreme weather situations pan out. 

"Extreme weather is something that is definitely being affected by climate change and it’s something every sector – including travel, but not just travel – needs to take on board in every aspect of their life," she continued.

’On the cusp’

Meanwhile, Travel Counsellor Marie Rowe took a more positive view of the situation, explaining how, unlike the Covid-19 pandemic, wildfires happening year-on-year presents agents with an opportunity to sell the value of personal service.

"When customers say: ’don’t worry, it’s £50 cheaper online so I’ll do it myself’, what they are also saying is: ’if my hotel burns down in an unexpected wildfire I’ll look after myself’," she explained.

"As agents we can point out cancellation terms, change fees, and the support we provide to clients in resort if the worst happens."

Rowe described the extreme temperatures as a "welcome wake up call for agents" to do more when it comes to educating customers on ways to reduce their carbon footprint by choosing more sustainable hotels and offsetting their transport emissions.

Ashley Quint, director of TravelTime World in Berkhamsted, said customers have long been avoiding Greece, Turkey and Cyprus during the summer "because it’s too hot".

"I think we’re definitely on the cusp when it comes to clients not wanting to travel to a certain destination because of the climate situation," he added. "The ‘it’s too hot’ comments are just the start of things and, as we’ve seen, temperatures are going to be hotter and more prolonged."

Quint was echoed by director of Kilwinning’s Thorne Travel Shona Thorne, who believes the current talks around climate change are the biggest conversations around the issue the industry has had in recent times.

"There will be a lot more attention paid to climate change, especially from customers with younger children or healthcare conditions," she said.

Travel intent ’undampened’

Yet Lo Bue-Said reported no cancellations among Advantage members as a result of the heatwave, and the group does not expect to see travellers deciding not to travel due to the weather.

"The trend that we would expect to see at this time of year – for Brits looking for that last-minute break in the sun – continues, and reports of heatwaves are doing nothing to dampen this desire," she added.

East, meanwhile, said climate change was not something being mentioned by customers and TTNG will avoid promoting Rhodes and Corfu over the next few days. 

"Some customers who are due to travel to these areas are considering whether to continue with their booking or to amend to an alternative destination, but this is minimal," he added.