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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent

Extreme heatwaves in Europe not changing Britons’ holiday plans, say travel bosses

People pack La Concha beach in the Spanish Basque city of San Sebastián
People pack La Concha beach in the Spanish Basque city of San Sebastián, 21 June 2026, during the first heatwave in the summer. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

After a year marked by extreme heat and war sending fuel prices skywards, British travel executives hoped for solace in Madeira’s benign subtropical climate, separated by hundreds of miles of blue sea from the overtourism protests and six-hour EU-entry queues seen on the Portuguese mainland.

As bosses admitted, holidays will be ever less affordable, AI is coming for their jobs, and the visitable world is shrinking – not least those parts where tourists remain welcome.

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