The much-hyped chaos of the 2012 Olympics in London has collided with a colder-than-average UK summer, leading many Britons to seek escapes abroad.
Search marketing data compiled by Marin Software found a year-over-year lift on pretty much all metrics: number of clicks, impressions and spend for advertisers in the travel industry across Google, Yahoo and Bing.
Within the travel industry, clicks are up by 20%, impression are up by 52%, and ad spend has increased by 17% compared to late July of last year.
So could there be any other reason for this increased interest in traveling abroad for UK internet users?
Ed Stevenson, Managing Director, Global Agencies & International, Marin Software, thinks not:
"Of course at this time of year, we typically see more people looking for a last-minute online holiday deal, however, a combination of search clicks shooting up by 20% and impressions by 52% compared to last year paints a picture we haven't seen previously.
"We're putting this significant increase in the travel sector's search activity down to a mixture of the terrible summer weather and an initial fear the Olympics would cause chaos. The two together have clearly forcedmore Brits than usual to try and flee to sunnier climes."
No matter the reason, one thing is for sure: the dual promises of sunnier weather and escape from Olympic crowds are leading consumers to at least dream about an escape, thus presenting an opportunity to travel operators on the mainland looking to increase late summer bookings.
NB: Ibiza beach image from Shutterstock.