April numbers soar 20%

ABTA (www.abta.com) today said the ‘Easter Effect’ would see passenger numbers for Apr this year up by 20% on 2008, with strong growthin demand for both domestic and overseas holidays. About two million Brits are expected to head overseas for the Easter bank holiday, with ABTA saying its members have reported Spain, the Canary Islands, Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia as popular. There’s also been increased demand for Cuba, with UK travellers keen to experience the destination before the US travel ban is lifted. ABTA said Florida was also this year’s “top long haul family destination” while other popular spots have included less well known cities outside of the eurozone such as Budapest, Prague and Belgrade.

“As holiday time looms, people are indeed booking,” said ABTA CEO Mark Tanzer. “It appears consumer confidence is rising, and people feel they have enough money in their pocket or must simply have had enough of worrying.