The bad news continued for the UK airline industry (following the admission by Ryanair that its load factors are down 3% year-on-year and the sharp drop in the share price of easyJet), as a study…
The bad news continued for the UK airline industry (following the admission by Ryanair that its load factors are down 3% year-on-year and the sharp drop in the share price of easyJet), as a study carried out on behalf of Marsdens Cottage Holidays, Devon’s independent holiday cottage company, revealed that the number of Britons choosing to holiday at home is set to dramatically rise yet again in 2007 – and part of that reason is climate change.
The report revealed that whilst the doubling of Air Passenger Duty and last year’s industrial action have made many choose to holiday in the UK this summer, 87% of the 919 participants are so keen to cut down their carbon emissions that instead of taking the plane to Spain, they would rather take the train to a UK destination.
I think it`s better for the environment to stay in the UK, commented Will Green, a 30 year-old recruitment consultant from London who participated in Marsdens’ study. It’s a bit ironic, as due to climate change and global warming, Britain has now become a much warmer country over the summer months, so it is not necessary to holiday abroad anymore.
Peter Cornwell, a partner at Marsdens Cottage Holidays, said The recent publicity surrounding climate change has made everyone think twice about flying, as air travel is one of the worst contributors to greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide. We always ask guests why they chose to holiday in Devon and the majority of our new clients booking for the summer are saying it’s because they did not want to cause more pollution by flying.
So whilst the no-frills airlines grimly look towards a summer that will see them fly millions and millions of seats at a loss, Cornwell says there is a definite optimism among UK operators for 2007 with bookings for holidays in the South West of England already up by around 20% year-on-year.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
