UK's Bad Weather 'Boosting Late Holiday Sales'

Brits are being inspired to take holidays by the bad weather, new research has shown.

Travel Weekly reports that online travel retailer lastminute.com has seen a steadily growing increase in traffic on its site, which is indicative of a "holiday booking frenzy".

Over the last week, the number of unique visitors searching for holidays on the site has risen by 23 per cent compared to the previous seven days.

The site related this increase to the recent nosedive in weather conditions, which is encouraging people to jet off to warmer climes.

Furthermore, tour operator Jet2Holidays reported just under a 50 per cent increase in last minute booking for trips abroad in July and August.

Meanwhile, Luxury Travel Magazine has reported that people are now unwilling to cancel their summer holidays when they experience financial difficulty.

It asserted that they would rather cut back on luxury buys at the supermarket or spending on clothes.

Alyson Cook, editor of Luxury Travel Magazine, said that the holiday has now become "sacrosanct".

Destinations News posted on 16/07/2008 14:42:33