October is the New August
I've been begging Tauck for years to add more off-season dates.
Opinion: The Financial Times View, Aug. 8
Climate change is prompting shifts to the off-season and ‘coolcations’
Since the advent of the mass-market package tour in the 1960s, the sun-and-sea summer holiday on the Mediterranean has been part of British culture: an aspiration that for many over time became an expectation. A classic 1980s TV ad tapped into the love of the August getaway by advising Britons to buy an Audi “if you want to get to the beach before the Germans”. Now, with the holiday season at its traditional peak, the FT reported this week that hotter weather is prompting rising numbers of British tourists to shun classic summer hotspots and travel later in the year. Germans, and others, are showing signs of doing the same.
The latest survey of 6,000 holidaymakers for the European Travel Commission, which represents 36 national tourism organisations, found 9 per cent had changed their holiday months. Partly that reflects a hunt by consumers for cheaper deals in less crowded locations, and a growing market of retirees and post-kids couples able to avoid the school holiday crush.
But a big driver is rising temperatures and phenomena such as wildfires. Three-quarters of respondents had adopted at least one change in travel habits due to climate change. The top three adjustments were choosing milder destinations, avoiding those with extreme heat, and monitoring weather forecasts before finalising plans.
Comments
I’m not surprised to see this data. I feel like September is now a part of peak summer travel (for US travelers I know), and October is getting popular as the new September! 😆 My husband and I always hope to avoid the summer crowds by traveling in October, but we are noticing that at least the first half of the month is now much busier than it use to be! We love fall travel, even into November, it just requires more options for clothing, in my opinion.
Tauck has been sending me emails about Fall travel