ABTA – The Travel Association estimates that 1.9 million British holidaymakers are set to head overseas during the August bank holiday weekend (28-31 August).

Temperatures around the Mediterranean are set to hit the early thirties this weekend with guaranteed sunshine. Spain has sold very well with the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and the coastal resorts on the mainland leading the way. Likewise, Portugal and Turkey have sold well. City breaks are also popular for the long weekend with Madrid, Rome, Amsterdam, Paris and New York all hotly tipped.

ABTA Members are also reporting strong sales to domestic beach resorts and the Channel Islands for the bank holiday weekend. UK city breaks are another top pick for the weekend and lots of visitors will be heading to Edinburgh for the festival or enjoying events such as the Notting Hill Carnival in London.

Airports in the South East are expecting a very busy weekend with over 550,000* passengers expected to depart from Heathrow, 270,000 from Gatwick, 145,000 from Stansted and 87,000 from Luton.

175,000 are due to depart from Manchester, 73,000 from Birmingham, 50,000 from Bristol and 150,000 will be leaving from Scottish airports.

Hundreds of thousands will also be leaving the country from other regional airports, ports and the Channel Tunnel. Eurostar will be extremely busy with 75,000 Brits set to enjoy a late summer break in France.

Mark Tanzer, ABTA Chief Executive, said: “This weekend is always one of the busiest of the year with hundreds of thousands taking advantage of the long bank holiday weekend to head overseas for some guaranteed sunshine, or to enjoy the UK’s beautiful countryside and vibrant cities. With the pound still high against the Euro many Brits will be taking advantage of cheaper prices in the Eurozone resorts.”