Holiday companies have predicted a surge in bookings for UK summer breaks after a jump in interest from Britons fearful of flight cancellations linked to the Iran war.<\/p>\n
Summer bookings are expected to rise in the coming weeks amid warnings of possible jet fuel shortages and resulting cancellations by airlines across Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n Raoul Fraser, the chief executive of Lovat, a holiday park operator with sites across south-west England, said traffic to its website had increased after reports of jet fuel warnings last week. \u201cIt is definitely having a positive impact for us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur holidays bookings are up over 30% this year. It is a little bit like Covid, when people couldn\u2019t get away and now they just want the certainty of a nice holiday in the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n The holiday resort company Butlin\u2019s, which has sites at Bognor Regis, Minehead and Skegness, said it was seeing \u201cstrong growth for the summer school holidays\u201d.<\/p>\n However, its chief executive, Jon Hendry Pickup, said many families were still booking their holidays closer to the time, due to travel uncertainty and cost pressures.<\/p>\n \u201cNormally we get somewhere in the region of 15% to 20% of people booking a holiday in the last four weeks before they come. Now it is roughly double that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Jeremy Hipkiss, the managing director of the holiday parks company Landal UK, said: \u201cIncreasingly guests are choosing destinations closer to home that are easy to reach by car or public transport, giving them greater control over their plans.\u201d<\/p>\n Hipkiss said that Landal\u2019s parks in Cornwall, Scotland and Lincolnshire were \u201cparticularly popular\u201d.<\/p>\n Peter Munk, the chief executive of Willerby, a specialist caravan manufacturer based in Hull, added that the cost of living pressure was also putting people off overseas travel. Inflation, which was steady at 3% in February<\/a>, is expected to increase after the Iran war drove up global energy costs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about the reality of inflation kicking off again,\u201d he said. \u201cMost people still want a holiday, so it might be that they have fewer days or move closer to home and not have that dream holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n Graph of jet fuel prices in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Travel spending fell in March for the first time since the pandemic<\/a> travel restrictions lifted in 2021, dropping by 3.3%, according to data from Barclays. Spending on travel agents fell by 4.6%, airlines by 4.1%, and public transport by 2.9%.<\/p>\n However, Sinead O\u2019Connor, a travel analyst at the research company Mintel, said even with the cost of living pressures, appetite for holidays remained strong.<\/p>\n She said its research showed 52% of Britons surveyed planned to holiday in the UK, with 49% heading overseas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe expect the value of the domestic holiday market to grow by about 7% this year, reaching close to \u00a314bn and to outpace growth in overseas travel,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The overseas travel market is forecast to grow by 4.8% this year to \u00a364.3bn, Mintel said.<\/p>\n Fears are rising that the oil crisis triggered by the conflict in the Middle East could lead to fuel shortages in Europe this summer.<\/p>\n This week, the head of the global energy body warned that Europe only has six weeks\u2019 worth of jet fuel supplies<\/a> before shortages will hit.<\/p>\n Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, said there would be flight cancellations if oil supplies were not restored within the coming weeks.<\/p>\n On Friday, the International Air Transport Association\u2019s director general, Willie Walsh, said flights in Europe could be cancelled because of a lack of jet fuel starting from the end of May.<\/p>\n \u201cAlong with doing everything possible to secure alternative supply lines, it\u2019s important that authorities have well-communicated and well-coordinated plans in place in case rationing becomes necessary, including for slot relief,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n This month, Michael O\u2019Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, warned that Britain would be the most exposed to jet fuel shortages<\/a> because it relies on Kuwait for about 25% of its supply.<\/p>\n