The travel association ABTA says that of Britons planning to travel abroad this year, 15% of them are doing so for the February half term. Top of the list among short-haul destinations are the Canaries, mainland Spain (e.g. the Costa del Sol) and Portugal. Mallorca isn't mentioned, which isn't exactly surprising as there are only limited numbers of flights until 'summer' schedules come into effect towards the end of next month.
ABTA adds that the desire to get away this half term reflects the wider demand for overseas travel, with many ABTA travel agent and tour operator members reporting record-breaking sales in January for holidays this year.
The CEO of ABTA, Mark Tanzer, says that "the enthusiasm we’ve seen for holiday bookings this year shows just how high they are on people’s priority lists, despite the current squeeze on household budgets".