2012-08-23 — /travelprnews.com/ — ABTA, The Travel Association estimates that 1.8 million British holidaymakers are set to head overseas during the August Bank Holiday (24-27 August). Spain continues to be the UK’s favourite foreign holiday destination for Brits heading overseas during this period, with the Balearic Islands being the most popular area. Turkey and the Greek Islands are also popular along with Egypt and Tunisia for those catching the last bank holiday of the summer and wanting guaranteed sunshine.
A number of factors are helping to drive Brits to the Eurozone this summer. Many travel businesses have reported that the British weather this summer has encouraged holidaymakers abroad. Savvy Brits are also looking to take advantage of the strong Pound/Euro* exchange rate. The Pound is at a four year high against the Euro which means holidaymakers are receiving over 10% more spending power in Eurozone countries compared to last year. In addition it is reported that prices in restaurants and bars in destinations have fallen.
Domestic tour operators are reporting good demand, with traditional UK holiday destinations along the South Coast and South West proving popular as are the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey. Traditional seaside resorts of Blackpool and Brighton are also expected to be busy.
Paris, Amsterdam and Dublin are proving popular for City breaks.
Airports are reporting that: 250,000 passengers will leave from Gatwick, 124,000 from Stansted and 68,500 from Luton this weekend. It is expected that 150,000 will leave from Manchester, 62,500 from Birmingham, 45,000 from Bristol, 10,000 from Cardiff and 25,500 from Leeds Bradford.
ABTA also estimates more than 400,000 passengers will leave from Heathrow** and over 100,000 will be leaving from Scottish airports.
Other regional airports, ferry terminals and the channel tunnel will also be extremely busy over the weekend with hundreds of thousands leaving the country. Eurostar is reporting that 60,000 will depart the UK this weekend with the destinations of Paris, Disneyland Paris, Amsterdam, Avignon, Lyon and Bruges proving most popular.
Mark Tanzer ABTA Chief Executive said: “As always at the end of a major sporting event, many people are looking to head off for a break either at home or overseas. Spain and Greece continue to be popular with many holidaymakers taking advantage of the strong Pound, which is at a four year high against the Euro, as well as the fact that prices in bars and restaurants have come down.”
*Post Office branch exchange rates (22 August) reveal sterling to be running at its highest rate in 4 years currently €1.23.
**Estimates based on 2011 data.
For further information
Sean Tipton, Media Relations Manager, tel: 020 3117 0513
Gillian Edwards, Senior Public Relations Manager, 020 3117 0514
Victoria Bacon Head of Communications, tel: 020 3117 0515
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E-mail: press@abta.co.uk
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Notes to editors
ABTA has been at the heart of travel for more than 60 years. Our purpose is to help our Members to grow their businesses successfully and sustainably, and to help their customers – the travelling public – have confidence in their travel experience.
The ABTA brand stands for expertise, reliability and fairness. These qualities are core to us. They ensure that holidaymakers remain confident in the holiday products that they buy from our Members.
We help our Members and their customers navigate through today’s changing travel landscape by providing schemes of financial protection and a course of redress if something goes wrong; by raising standards in the industry and by giving guidance on issues from sustainability to health and safety; and by presenting a united voice to government to ensure the industry and the public get a fair deal.
ABTA currently has over 1,300 Members and represents over 5,000 retail outlets and offices. For more details about what we do, what being an ABTA Member means and how we’re working at the heart of the industry to ensure that we continue to build confidence in travel visit www.abta.com.
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