UK Edition
Easter getaway: 1.6 million Britons to head abroad
An estimated 1.6 million Britons are about to head abroad for Easter, with Spain and its islands, Turkey, Tunisia and Florida proving popular, according to the latest figures from Abta.
Over the Easter weekend, 370,000 passengers will leave from Heathrow Airport, 200,000 from Gatwick, 120,000 from Stansted, 60,000 from Luton and 4,500 from Bournemouth.
EasyJet is preparing for its busiest day in history tomorrow as it expects to fly a record number of more than 200,000 passengers on more than 1,400 flights. Around 120,000 passengers will leave or arrive at airports in Britain with the budget carrier on Good Friday.
The airline said most holidaymakers in search of Easter sun were heading to Malaga, Alicante and Majorca.
The hotel comparison website Trivago meanwhile claimed its most popular destinations over the weekend are London, Amsterdam, Paris and Edinburgh. These capital cities were said to have generated the most searches from British travellers. Short-haul destinations were more popular than long-haul ones, with the top 25 most-searched for places all within a few hours of Britain, save for Dubai, New York and Las Vegas.
Easter breaks in Britain were also popular, making up 13 of the top 25 destinations being searched for.
Around seven per cent of the adult population - 3.4 million Britons - plan on going away for at least one night in Britain, according to VisitEngland. This is likely to generate around £800 million in tourism spend for the UK economy, around £700 million of which will be spent in England.
The figures reflect reports of strong booking numbers for Easter from many destinations across the country and following the trend for late bookings, many families are also expected to take spontaneous breaks or days out.
VisitEngland Chief Executive James Berrersford said: “Easter is a fantastic time of year to spend a short break or day out with the family exploring the wonderful destinations in England. The industry has rallied following the severe weather earlier this year - it’s business as usual for tourism with a full line up of events and offers across the country, and destinations ready and waiting to welcome visitors this Easter break.”
Hotel and b&b owners in Devon, some of whose business were affected by severe flooding this winter, welcomed the news from Stayindevon.co.uk that interest in the county over Easter was a third higher than it was this time last year.
As rain is forecast for Sunday, Telegraph Travel has compiled a handy guide to some of the best indoor attractions in Britain for families.
Our experts have also been considering how best to keep children entertained during the long car journeys with today expected to be the busiest day on Britain's roads so far this year. As many as 16 million cars will be on the move over the weekend.
Tomorrow is forecast to bring the best weather of the Easter break, with dry and sunny skies across Britain.
Bill Payne, a forecaster for MeteoGroup, said: "Although today will be very warm, with highs of 18 degrees, it will turn cloudier throughout the day.
"It means Easter Friday will be the nicest day of the Easter break - although a little cooler, it will be dry and bright everywhere. There will be a few showers around on Saturday but the weather really changes on Easter Sunday and becomes quite unsettled. There will be some heavy rain in England and Wales with showers lasting into Monday.
"But it will be quite different in Northern Ireland and Scotland where it should be dry and sunny," he added.
