Travel firms are cashing in as Brits try to escape this summer’s wet weather by going on holiday abroad.
Thomas Cook said yesterday it had sold 88 per cent of its summer holidays in the past few weeks.
The UK’s second biggest travel company put the rise in sales down to the washout summer.
It comes after slow sales in April and May which led to losses of £26.5million, forcing the group to take out bank loans of £200million.
The sales were boosted when the ailing company slashed prices for summer holidays. They still have some bargains available, such as a week’s half board at a three-star hotel on the Greek island of Kos for just £450 per person.
However, UK bookings are still down one per cent overall compared with last year.
Chief executive Harriet Green told the Daily Express: ‘The group has been through a difficult
period but much has been achieved which has strengthened the balance sheet and improved liquidity.’
Travel giant Thomas Cook said yesterday it had sold 88 per cent of its summer holidays in the past few weeks
The group has been through a difficult period but much has been achieved which has strengthened the balance sheet and improved liquidity.
It comes after weeks of miserable weather that engulfed the whole country. Apart from a brief hot spell last month, the UK endured weeks of heavy downpours, gales and below-average temperatures.
Forecasters have warned that Britain is about to be dominated by another system of low pressure bringing more bad weather.
Jonathan Powell, forecaster with Vantage Weather Services, said: ‘It is a pretty dire weekend ahead.
‘It is looking wet and windy from Friday and then into Saturday and Sunday, with a miserable outlook for the rest of August.‘
Source Daily Mail.
