Bookings departing between 18 and 28 December are up 44% year-on-year and since the start of October nearly a third (30%) of all bookings made have been for travel during Christmas.
Advantage chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said also highlighted recent Barclays data, which showed that year-on-year spending with travel agents increased by 9.2% last month and how the sector has now recorded double-digit growth in 11 of the past 12 months.
“This long running growth continues to demonstrate that people are still very much looking to catch up on missed trips from the Covid years and is also further evidence that people continue to prioritise travel,” she said.
“It also shows that with signs of the rise of inflation rates slowing, Brits are feeling cautiously optimistic, and that this growth should continue into the new year.”
Lo Bue-Said highlighted how in “many cases” people are looking to travel for long periods, with the average stay lasting eight nights and how all-inclusive holidays represented a 32% share of all Christmas bookings.
She added: “It is clear that Brits are looking to seize the chance of escaping the gloomy UK weather in search of sunshine, with the top destinations being Canaries and mainland Spain.”
Overall, Tenerife is the most popular destination, taking a 9% share of all Christmas departures and a 40% share of Canary Island bookings.
Lo Bue-Said revealed that 22% of all festive breaks were trips to long-haul destinations, including the US, the Caribbean, Far East, Dubai and Australia.
“Ultimately, these Christmas trends are really encouraging for the UK outbound travel industry,” she added.
“The wide range of trips that are being booked shows that increasingly Brits for whatever reason they choose to travel are placing an even higher importance on getting away and booking their trips through a travel agent.”
