16 Jul
2009

School summer getaway

As the majority of English schools break up this Friday, this weekend is one of the major getaway weekends for the year. With the great British weather proving as unpredictable as ever ABTA estimates that 1.8 million of us will be heading overseas this weekend 17-20 July.

Traffic through the main airports will be very busy with 415,000 leaving from Heathrow, 240,000 Gatwick, 140,000 Stansted, 150,000 Manchester, 65,000 Birmingham and 130,000 from the main Scottish airports. In addition hundreds of thousands will be heading out through regional airports and over or under the channel.

Despite hikes in the Euro, Spain is still the number one destination with the Balearic Islands selling well. Turkey and Egypt have seen significant growth and the USA has performed better than many of its competitors. All inclusive holidays are proving especially popular with families looking to control budgets and avoid unfavourable exchange rates. 

Capacity cuts made by the major tour operators however, has meant that there are less late deals available for the peak season but flexible travellers can find some excellent offers.

Mark Tanzer, ABTA Chief Executive said: “This year many of us are choosing to book later than normal and if you haven’t made your mind up yet on where to go and are flexible in your choices there are still some great deals available”.