‘I’ve never known a time like it’: summer holiday chaos is unprecedented, says travel industry leader

Exclusive: Hundreds of thousands of British holidaymakers have been affected by disruption

Summer shock: several houses in the Rhodes resort of Kiotari were reduced to rubble and ashes by the wildfires on the Greek island (Andy Gregory/The Independent)

One of the leading lights in the travel industry says the level of disruption faced by holidaymakers in the summer of 2023 is unprecedented.

Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, told The Independent: “I’ve never known a time like it where every day we switch on the news and something has gone wrong. So it’s constantly in the news and there are big disruptions that are happening, all having a really big impact on people looking to travel.”

Hundreds of thousands of British holidaymakers have been affected by disruption this summer by events that include:

• Extreme weather in the Mediterranean, with wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes triggering an evacuation of 20,000 tourists and severe flooding this week on the island of Skiathos.
• Flight cancellations caused by air-traffic control staff shortage and failures, notably on August bank holiday Monday when a system shutdown at Nats triggered the cancellation of 2,000 flights.
• Long waits at the Port of Dover for post-Brexit passport formalities.
• Regular national strikes across the rail network in England, as well as threats of industrial action at leading UK airports.
• Missed flights and ferries due to police checks at airports and ports as part of the manhunt for the escaped prisoner Daniel Khalife.

Yet UK holidaymakers are undeterred, according to Ms Lo Bue-Said: “Desire to travel among Brits has not abated. Summer from a trading point of view has been exceptional. We have seen significant business increases and some really exciting destinations. Cruise and long haul have been doing really well.

“In the vast majority of cases, people have been able to travel – for the first time, sometimes, in three years – without any disruption. And the social benefit that does for all of us is fantastic.”

All but one of the top-selling Advantage destinations are in Spain:

1. Tenerife
2. Antalya (Turkey)
3. Costa Blanca
4. Mallorca
5. Lanzarote

The Advantage CEO said holidaymakers are returning to travel professionals.

“Eighty-eight per cent of my members have seen new customers coming into their doors who are really keen to use their services.

“There have been so many disruptions over the last few years that having somebody on hand to help support you when you’re getting away has become so important.”

A poll of 2,000 people, conducted by Advantage, shows that younger holidaymakers are concerned by the extreme weather events in 2023. As a result, they say they will change their travel patterns in future.

Seven out of 10 people aged between 18 and 24 say they are likely to change the time of year they travel, as a result of changing weather patterns – compared to just one in four people over the age of 64.

Three out of five of the younger demographic of customers are also likely to change their holiday destination as a result of the impact of a warmer climate.