British tourists in a region devastated by wildfires are being urged 'do not come' as French president Emmanuel Macron said the crisis was the worst of its kind 'since World War II'16:20, 28 Jul 2026British holidaymakers are being warned not to cancel their holidays abroad until they hear from their travel provider after officials in a fire-hit region urged tourists to 'stay away'.‌Over 330,000 people have been driven from their homes and accommodation as flames continued to tear across southwest France and northern Spain - with temperatures set to rocket above 35C again this week.‌Sophie Brocas, prefect of the French department of Gironde where the the majority of the evacuations have taken place, warned: "We urge tourists not to come to this region, at least until the situation is under control."‌The Foreign Office has not yet issued a 'do not travel' warning for the affected regions - with Brits instead asked to check ahead with their accommodation or package holiday provider.As a 'do not travel' warning isn't in place, anyone who cancels their holiday themselves could face losing their right to a refund and ability to claim from their holiday insurance, experts say.‌A spokesperson for ABTA, the industry body which represents UK travel agents, tour operators, and the wider industry, told the Mirror: "If you have booked a package holiday to a destination affected by a wildfire your tour operator will be closely monitoring the situation and if the holiday cannot be provided or has been significantly effected, they will offer an alternative trip or a full refund for the cost of the package."However, if this is not the case and you chose yourself to cancel, you will almost certainly incur a cancellation fee.""If you have booked independently, you should always check with your accommodation provider to see whether your accommodation is available and if not what their refund policy is, as if you do not, this may affect any potential claim you make on your travel insurance."‌Popular holiday destinations in the affected Gironde region of France include Arcachon, Bordeaux and Fontainebleau forest.Avila, Toledo, Valencia and Castellon are among the tourist favourites under wildfire warnings in Spain.‌France and Spain are the two most popular overseas destinations for British holidaymakers. In 2024, UK residents made approximately 17.8 million visits to Spain, and 9.3 million visits to France, according to Foreign Office figures.In his latest comments today, President Emmanuel Macron said the fire was France’s worst fire-related crisis "since World War II" - and warned that a freak weather event was complicating firefighting efforts.Speaking from outside an office building being used to co-ordinate the emergency response, he said: "We’re facing a completely unprecedented fire.Article continues below"We had some events that we have never experienced before. First, we know that the Landes and Gascogne forest is extremely difficult to control - we experienced this in 2022."But on top of that comes extreme drought. Added to this, on top of all these factors and climate conditions, we are now seeing so-called pyrocumulonimbus clouds, which are real 'fire clouds' capable of carrying the fire much further."