School’s out: Airports braced for mass exodus
Two million holidaymakers will head overseas this weekend, the first of the summer holidays for the majority of schools in England, said ABTA.
Spain remains the number one destination with the Balearic and Canary Islands selling especially well, it said. Mexico and Cuba are among the top-selling long-haul holidays, although Florida remains the number one choice for families.
Last week’s heatwave in the UK boosted bookings for domestic holidays, with many ABTA members reporting a surge in business to destinations including the Channel Islands, the Lake District, Blackpool, Bournemouth and Brighton.
Airports in the southeast are expecting a very busy weekend with 480,000 passengers departing from Heathrow, 276,000 from Gatwick, 125,000 from Stansted and 70,000 from Luton.
Over 100,000 will be leaving from Scottish airports with 50,000 from Glasgow alone.
160,000 are due to depart from Manchester, 66,000 from Birmingham, 70,000 from Newcastle, 50,000 from Bristol and 30,000 from Leeds Bradford International.
Eurostar is reporting an increase in passenger numbers on last year with 70,000 heading off to Paris and the South of France over the weekend.
ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer said: "This weekend sees the start of the main summer holiday getaway and it’s one of the busiest of the year.
"Millions of holidaymakers will be heading off overseas with the Mediterranean countries attracting the lion’s share of visitors.
"The recent amazing weather at home has also given a great boost to domestic tourism and many ABTA members are reporting a surge in last minute bookings for holidays throughout the UK. "
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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