Greece Among ‘Great Summer Getaway’ Spots of UK Holidaymakers

“Many ABTA Members are reporting an increase in late bookings to Greece following the recent progress in securing a bailout, with customers taking advantage of some exceptional deals”, the chief executive of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), Mark Tanzer, said last week a few days before the “great summer getaway” weekend of UK holidaymakers.

Last weekend (July 24-27) saw the great summer getaway in full swing with all of the schools in the UK having broken up for their six-week summer break and hundreds of thousands of UK holidaymakers heading off for holiday.

Mr. Tanzer informed that destinations around the Mediterranean remain the firm favourites for British families.

According to ABTA, Spain remains the number one destination for the UK holiday market, with the Canary and Balearic Islands continuing to be popular.

Other Eurozone destinations, including Cyprus, France and Greece are also proving particularly popular this summer with holidaymakers attracted by the strong exchange rate. The pound is currently at an eight year high against the Euro.

“Holidaymakers will also see their spending money going further with the pound having increased in value against a wide range of currencies, particularly the Euro, over the last 12 months”, Mr. Tanzer said.

For UK holidaymakers heading further afield the Dominican Republic and Mexico have sold well, with Florida remaining the number one long haul choice for families.

ABTA informed that holidays to Barcelona, Amsterdam, Rome, Dublin and New York also feature as some of the top picks for summer 2015.

Some 2.1 million British holidaymakers were expected to have travelled overseas for summer holidays last weekend (July 24-27).