A travel pundit has issued a warning to Brits over their holidays and has urged them to consider cancelling their trips to Spain and other popular European destinations
Brit tourists are being warned of the dangers of jetting off to popular destinations – with potentially devastating wildfire season looming.
Locals and visitors to the Canary Islands are monitoring for blazes as authorities maintain a vigilant state of pre-alert season.
A BBC Morning Live pundit has sounded the alarm about a twin threat endangering UK tourists’ getaways in Spain, Turkey, and Greece.
Travel guru Ash Bhardwaj gave the cautionary advice regarding wildfires spreading, telling Brits: “We’re entering wildfire season, which peaks in July and August, and some of these places are seeing temperatures that peak at over 50 degrees Celsius.
“As a place gets drier and hotter, you’re more likely to get wildfires. Over the last five years, 13 per cent of travel insurance claims have been evacuations or related to natural disasters, so this is something that can affect your travel.”
Soaring temperatures, dry conditions and the recent arrival of a calima – dry, dusty winds from the Sahara – have made the islands prone to forest fires, reports Birmingham Live.
In a statement on its website, the local government said: “Given the current climatic, meteorological, and environmental circumstances, having passed the usual period of precipitation in the Canary Islands and, as established in section 2.10 of the INFOCA.
“It is estimated that the conditions are in place to declare a Pre-Alert Situation due to this being a period of medium to high risk of forest fires.”
Spain’s tourism industry is already feeling the pinch due to escalating anti-tourism demonstrations ahead of the peak season.
Protesters, rallying under the banner ‘Canarias tiene un limite’ (The Canaries has a limit), took to the streets on the islands of Tenerife, La Gomera, Gran Canaria, El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma last month.
Campaigners are calling for a cap on tourist numbers, a halt to new hotel developments, and a more stringent tourist tax, among other demands.