ABTA – The Travel Association estimates 1.5 million British holidaymakers are set to head overseas for the Easter weekend of 6-9 April. Spain is the UK’s favourite foreign holiday destination over the weekend, with the Canary and Balearic Islands the most popular areas. Cyprus and Tunisia have also sold very well and will have high temperatures and guaranteed sunshine.

Foreign city beaks are popular at this time of the year with the weather being comfortable and the crowds manageable. Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, Rome and New York are the top five choices. Snow lovers are heading off to Geneva to catch the final weeks of the ski season.

Domestic tour operators are reporting strong demand with many UK hotels and resorts fully booked. Traditional UK holiday destinations such as Cornwall and Devon, the South Coast, Norfolk and Suffolk are all expected to be extremely busy.

Airports are reporting good numbers: 370,000 will leave from Heathrow, 200,000 from Gatwick, 100,000 from Stansted and 65,000 from Luton. 

From Scotland over 100,000 will be leaving via the airports with 45,000 from Glasgow, 55,000 from Edinburgh.

From the North and the Midlands, 105,000 will leave from Manchester and 45,000 from Birmingham.

Other regional airports, ferry terminals and the channel tunnel will also be extremely busy over the weekend with hundreds of thousands leaving the country. Eurostar is reporting 85,000 departing the UK with Paris, Amsterdam and Lyon leading the way.

Mark Tanzer ABTA Chief Executive said: “Easter is the traditional curtain raiser to the summer and I am delighted to see that hundreds of thousands of Brits are taking the opportunity to take a well-earned break both here in the UK and overseas.”