ABTA – The Travel Association estimates around two million British holidaymakers are set to head overseas over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend of 7 April-10 April, with Good Friday, today, the busiest day for travel.
ABTA members are reporting very strong sales in many destinations, in particular mainland Spain, the Canary and Balearic Islands, the Algarve, Madeira, Cyprus, Croatia, Italy, Greece and Southern Turkey.
Although endless sunshine can’t be guaranteed at this time of the year, temperatures in the UK’s favourite overseas destinations are set to be higher than here over the Bank Holiday weekend.
The following destinations will average these temperatures during the day, Malaga 22C, Faro 21C, Lanzarote 24C, Palma 18C, Antalya 18C, making for very pleasant times on the beach, al fresco dining and strolling through atmospheric, historic city centres.
By contrast the weather in the UK over the weekend is a little less pleasant with average temperatures seeing London and Manchester at 14C, Edinburgh 12C and a mixture of cloud, sunshine and showers.
Many more will be taking advantage of the four-day Bank Holiday weekend to take a city break, with Amsterdam and Dublin popular for short haul and further afield New York and Dubai.
Airports are reporting strong numbers with about 175,000 leaving from Stansted and 105,000 from Luton. 160,000 leaving from Manchester, 55,000 from Bristol and 85,000 from Edinburgh airports.
Other regional airports, seaports and the Channel Tunnel will also be extremely busy over the weekend.
This time of year is always a popular time for UK breaks, particularly for families, with many customers travelling to coastlines, national parks and theme parks for the Easter season.
Mark Tanzer ABTA Chief Executive said:
“The Easter weekend is one of the busiest of the year for the travel industry and for some this will be the first overseas break since the start of the pandemic. Millions of holidaymakers will be heading off overseas for some much-needed warmth and sunshine after weeks of overcast and rainy weather at home. The getaway for Easter is also one of the busiest times of year on the roads so leave extra time to get to your departure air or seaport, and if using public transport, check for engineering work to ensure you start your journey without a hitch.”