4 Million Britons Prepare for Christmas Getaway
The UK travel association ABTA has said that Thursday will be one of the busiest pre-Christmas travel days, with thousands of Britons taking cheap flights to sunshine getaways or winter sports hot spots.
The association said that between 17 December and 2 January, almost four million UK travellers will celebrate the festive season overseas. 17 and 23 December are typically the two busiest travel days before Christmas, it added.
Naturally, many of them will be taking cheap flights to Geneva or the French Alps to make the most of the winter sports season. With the big freeze affecting northern Europe this year, skiing and snowboarding holidays are going to be bigger and snowier than ever, ABTA said.
However, there will also be a huge number of Brits escaping the freezing temperatures to enjoy some winter sun, taking cheap flights to Spain, Dubai, Florida and Turkey in order to make the most of those destinations' balmy climate. City breaks have also become increasingly popular among Britons and ABTA said that many are taking cheap flights to Europe to celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve in such cultural centres as Amsterdam, Dublin, Madrid, New York, Paris and Sydney.
ABTA chairman John McEwan commented: "Christmas is traditionally the busiest time of year for the travel industry and I am delighted to see that so many of our customers are taking this opportunity to head off on holiday and to visit friends and family both in the UK and overseas."
There are still some last minute Christmas holiday bargains to be found online. This is thanks to high demand leading to many budget airlines laying on extra cheap flights to Europe over the next couple of festive weeks.
Travel Industry News posted by 
on 22 December 2010
