The potential of an eleven day break due to the Easter and Royal Wedding holidays this year have caused a jump in mid-haul and beach holidays.
Classic beach break holidays are the most popular destinations for British travellers this Easter, with Malaga, Tenerife and Alicante the top three spots for UK holidaymakers.
Searches for flights to Tenerife saw the single biggest rise in popularity compared to Easter 2010, jumping a huge 21 places into the number two slot. And while last Easter Skyscanner reported a fall in interest in Spain, the British love affair with Spain appears to be back on, with Malaga, Tenerife and Alicante taking the top slots.
However, with the extra holiday this year due to the Royal Wedding, mid-haul spots have also risen in the charts, with New York and Istanbul hot on the heels of the top three sun spots. New York was up one place on last year while Istanbul saw a considerable rise in popularity, moving up a whopping 11 places compared to Easter last year.
City break destinations appear less popular this Easter; although Amsterdam and Barcelona remain in the top ten, both dropped four places compared to last Easter. Rome dropped two places to ninth position, and Paris, Dublin and London dropped out of the top ten altogether.
Gareth Williams, Skyscanner CEO commented:
“Malaga and Alicante remain immensely popular with the British, but it also looks as though people are taking advantage of the extra Royal Wedding holiday and going a little further afield this Easter with Tenerife, New York and Istanbul all up considerably compared to last year. This has come at the expense of city break destinations which have all dropped significantly this Easter. The fact that London doesn’t even appear in this year’s top ten certainly seems to suggest that many Brits are trying to escape the hype around the Royal Wedding ”.
Most popular destinations for British travellers Easter 2011
1. Malaga [+1]
2. Tenerife [+21]
3. Alicante [+3]
4. New York [+1]
5. Istanbul [+11]
6. Faro [+7]
7. Amsterdam [-4]
8. Barcelona [-4]
9. Rome [-2]
10. Palma [+1]
Ranking based on flight searches on the Skyscanner site for UK international departures for travel over the Easter 2011 period. Difference in ranking based on flight searches for Easter 2010 period.
Most popular destinations for British travellers Easter 2010
1. London
2. Malaga
3. Amsterdam
4. Barcelona
5. New York
6. Alicante
7. Rome
8. Dublin
9. Paris
10. Geneva
www.skyscanner.net
