Bank Holiday getaway begins
Airlines are gearing up for an August Bank Holiday getaway this weekend.
EasyJet reports 700,000 Brits will fly with the carrier this weekend, a 10% increase on last year.
It says Barcelona is the top-selling destination, followed by Malaga, Alicante, Faro and Rome.
EasyJet UK general manager David Osborne said: “Getting away from the unreliable English weather or DIY superstores seems to be the main objective this weekend.”
According to British Airways, Scotland is the preferred destination for Brits this weekend. The airline is expecting to fly over 20,000 passengers to Glasgow and Edinburgh – that’s 60% more passengers than are flying to the most popular European destinations Paris, Nice or Rome.
Eurostar is expecting to carry a record 153,000 travellers during the bank holiday period, 7% up on last year.
VisitBritain is hoping the weather forecasters are correct – they say the weekend will be dry, with some sunshine – and that people will be encouraged to get out and about in the UK.
Looking further ahead, the tourism agency is hoping for a strong finish to the summer holidays, claiming that 8.8 million Brits (19% of the adult population), are planning an overnight trip in the UK during the last two weeks of the summer holidays.
By Lisa James
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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