ABTA – The Travel Association is estimating that over two million Brits are set to head overseas this bank holiday weekend (23-26 August). 

With unsettled weather affecting most of the UK for the past couple of weeks, holidaymakers who have booked a trip abroad this weekend will benefit from guaranteed sunshine in the Mediterranean, with popular resorts in the region predicted to see temperatures in the 30s.   

ABTA Members report that the Balearics, mainland Spain, Greece and Italy are leading the way in terms of the most popular places to visit. Outside of the Mediterranean the Canary Islands, Turkey and Tunisia are also proving popular. The holiday market is very competitive at the moment and those still looking to book a last minute trip over the weekend will find plenty of good value holiday prices.  

City breaks are a good option for the long weekend and Barcelona, Dublin, Rome, Frankfurt and Amsterdam are the most popular choices. 

Meanwhile, New York, Toronto and Dubai are the preferred long haul destination choices.

With the weather looking much more settled for the weekend ahead, those choosing to stay in the UK will be heading to popular countryside and coastal locations including Norfolk, The Lake District, Devon, Cornwall and Bournemouth.

Airports around the country will be very busy with hundreds of thousands flying out from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton. Other airports will also be busy with Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, East Midlands and Southend all expecting high numbers of departing passengers. 

Hundreds of thousands will also be travelling through the Ports and the Channel Tunnel, with Eurostar expecting 140,000 travellers over the weekend. 

Mark Tanzer, ABTA Chief Executive, said: 

“With a wet and windy start to the month it’s perhaps little surprise that many holidaymakers have booked trips abroad to round off the end of the summer and school holidays with some drier and warmer weather. The Mediterranean is currently experiencing some pleasant temperatures for people wishing to travel overseas, while those staying in the UK will be able to enjoy more settled conditions, with trips to the coast and countryside a popular choice. 

“As with all bank holiday weekends, the roads and rail networks are likely to be particularly busy so if you are planning to travel, make sure you leave extra time to get to your place of departure and check your route in advance for engineering works if using public transport.

“If you are still looking to book a last minute break or are planning a trip further ahead, there are good value holidays out there, particularly during the October half term.” 

For further information, contact:
Tom Sommerfelt, Senior Media Relations Executive, tel: 020 3117 0531
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Web: www.abta.com
Twitter: @ABTAtravel

Notes to editors
ABTA has been a trusted travel brand for over 65 years. Our purpose is to help our Members to grow their businesses successfully and sustainably, and to help their customers travel with confidence. 

The ABTA brand stands for support, protection and expertise. This means consumers have confidence in ABTA and a strong trust in ABTA Members. These qualities are core to us as they ensure that holidaymakers remain confident in the holiday products that they buy from our Members. 

We help our Members and their customers navigate through today's changing travel landscape by raising standards in the industry; offering schemes of financial protection; providing an independent complaints resolution service should something go wrong; giving guidance on issues from sustainability to health and safety and by presenting a united voice to government to ensure the industry and the public get a fair deal.

ABTA has more than 4,300 travel brands in Membership, providing a wide range of leisure and business travel services, with a combined annual UK turnover of £39 billion. For more details about what we do, what being an ABTA Member means and how we help the British public travel with confidence visit www.abta.com.