Return of the great British holiday puts Spain and Greece in the shade - guardian.co.uk
Return of the great British holiday puts Spain and Greece in the shade - guardian.co.uk Photograph: Cate Gillon/Getty ImagesThe British seaside is proving a popular holiday destination this year, with a weak pound and stretched finances forcing more people to stay in Britain. But many people are still escaping the wet and windy British summer to sunnier climes - outside the increasingly expensive eurozone.The strength of the euro is putting many holidaymakers off traditional European destinations such as Spain and Greece. The pound is now worth €1.27, 20% less than a year ago. Turkey and Egypt have become the new hot spots, seeing the biggest rises in bookings this year. Croatia, Bulgaria and Tunisia are also popular. Outside the eurozone, Bulgaria has emerged as the cheapest European destination.For late summer bookings, Turkey - in particular the Dalaman area which offers sea and mountains - has come out top, according to new figures compiled by Co-operative Travel for The Guardian. The Co-op's Trevor Davis described this as "a seismic shift in holiday bookings, as Spain has been the UK's number one choice since the package holiday began". The number of Britons visiting Turkey this year has jumped by a fifth to 1.7 million, according to the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). Egypt has seen an even bigger increase of 28%, attracting 600,000 holidaymakers. By contrast, Spain and Greece are showing flat growth - though Spain remains by far the biggest destination, with 14 million Britons going there every year. Greece attracts 2.5 million holidaymakers from Britain.Thomas Cook has seen its summer bookings to Turkey and Egypt increase by 15% from last year. A family of four will pay £1,516 for a week in a self catering apartment in Dalaman with Thomson (owned by TUI) - or £2,141 for the same deal at Alykanas village apartments in Zante, Greece. The British seaside is seeing record numbers of bookings: Brighton is up 70%, Bournemouth 20% and Eastbourne 66%."The Brits are taking another look at holidaying at home because of the economic climate," said Sian Brenchley at Visit Britain. Customers are booking more add-ons with their hotels - theme parks, theatre and music tickets. The trend has continued despite the rather poor summer we've had this year."Asda reported this week that its stores in seaside towns, were trading "phenomenally well".More people are cutting the length of their summer holidays abroad to enjoy several breaks at home. Since the mergers of travel groups TUI and First Choice and Thomas Cook and MyTravel, last year, they have cut the number of low-cost late deals to western Mediterranean resorts such as mainland Spain and the Balearics. The surge to the turquoise coast may continue. Searches on Teletext Holidays between June and August for holidays to Turkey soared by 72% compared with last year. Ash Makkar, marketing director, said: "The credit crunch has affected our customers' priorities in terms of booking a summer break, as they now demand greater value than ever before. It was last updated at 01:45 on August 16 2008. Printable versionSend to a friendShare ClipContact us larger| smaller Share Close Digg reddit Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Share Close Digg reddit Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Travel insuranceMulti-trip annual holiday insurance from £38 and single trip travel insurance from £6. Share travel tips about your favourite places on Been there, our interactive travel guide to the world.
