Last-minute Easter holiday bookings surge ahead of miserable UK weather
As the recent glorious sunshine gives way to April showers and cooler temperatures, there has been a spike of last-minute Easter holiday bookings as Britons search for warm weather elsewhere.
Around 2.2 million British holidaymakers are set to head overseas over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, with Good Friday the busiest day for travel, according to ABTA, the travel trade association.
But with gloomy forecasts, many are hopping on last-minute Easter trips, according to On the Beach, which saw a 30 per cent increase on Sunday and Monday compared to the previous 48 hours.
According to the Met Office, the weather over the weekend is set to be changeable, with rain and sunny spells.
Steven Skeates, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: 'The Easter weekend is set to bring changeable weather for many.
Some areas may experience near dry conditions all weekend, whilst others may see heavy rain.'
Tenerife, Antalya and Rhodes, however, are all set to bask in temperatures rising higher than 22 degrees next week.
In the past 10 days, bookings for Easter holidays with On the Beach have risen by 96 per cent.
Airports in the South East are reporting strong numbers with hundreds of thousands leaving from Heathrow and Gatwick, 187,000 from Stansted and 105,000 from Luton, according to ABTA.
Other airports will also be busy, with Birmingham expecting its busiest ever Easter period and thousands departing from the Scottish airports.
Ferry terminals and the Channel Tunnel will also be extremely busy, and thousands are booked to travel by Eurostar this weekend.
Zoe Harris, chief customer officer at On the Beach, said: 'On Sunday, the UK summer ended for another year.
'I'm joking but that's what it felt like for thousands, because they all turned to their laptops and booked holidays out of here.
'It seems they wanted more than that small dose of vitamin D we experience, so instead of searching for eggs this weekend, they'll be searching for the bar with the fancy cocktails and I'm all for it.'
Top last-minute destinations include Antalya in Turkey, which is set to reach 26 degrees next week, as well as the Canary Islands and mainland Spain.
A spokesperson at Jet2holidays said: 'Easter always sees a ramp up in customers travelling to the sunshine, and 2025 is certainly no different for us with a very busy flights and holidays programme in operation and lots of customers choosing to get away, particularly with the UK weather looking gloomy as Easter comes around.'
However, anxiety over potential delays at airports and on roads has led many to opt for a last-minute holiday in the UK despite the poor weather forecasts.
Bookings at its London and Edinburgh hotels this weekend have seen an increase, with 45 per cent of plans made two weeks before Easter, says hotel chain Yotel.
Hubert Viriot, CEO of Yotel, said: 'With planned strikes at Gatwick and considering our research, we are expecting a large volume of Brits set to stay in the UK this Easter visiting the nation's most popular cities and cultural hubs.'
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