October half-term bookings are up by 8% year-on-year among Advantage members, with Spain, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and Italy leading the way for short-haul demand, and the United States and Japan for long-haul.

The figures were drawn from bookings made across Advantage’s network of independently-owned agency businesses, with the consortium claiming October half-term has become "a key fixture" in the family holiday calendar as holidaymakers "seek guaranteed sunshine closer to home as well as long-haul adventures further afield".

Across Spain and its islands, Tenerife, Alicante and Majorca are half-term favourites, as is year-round option Tenerife. In Turkey, Antalya and Dalaman are leading bookings, while Crete and Rhodes are Advantage members' most popular Greek destinations.

Advantage said these destinations' return to form after struggling at the start of the year due to the war in the Middle East suggests travellers are growing in confidence.

For long-haul, the USA is the most popular destination for October half-term among Advantage members, followed by Japan, Singapore, the Maldives and the UAE. New York and Orlando lead USA bookings, combining city breaks and theme park holidays, while Tokyo leads bookings to Japan.

Advantage said demand for Dubai and the UAE had picked up significantly since the summer, pinning the trend on the Foreign Office's decision to stop advising against all but essential travel to the UAE.

A third (33%) of Advantage members' bookings are being made on an all-inclusive basis, followed by half-board at around a quarter (24%), while timings show a mix of early and late demand; a third of bookings are being made more than 180 days prior to departure, 35% 60 days prior and 15% just 30 days prior.

'Best of both worlds'

Julia Lo Bue-Said, Advantage Travel Partnership Chief Executive, said: “October is increasingly becoming a popular month to get away as Brits realise you get the sunshine without the scorching heat, long queues or busy beaches.

“There’s also something really special about grabbing some final rays of sunshine before winter sets in, and a break in October gives people the best of both worlds: warm days, quieter beaches and a more relaxed pace than the summer rush."

Lo Bue-Said also renewed her call for a review of school holidays. "A third of customers locked in their half-term holiday more than six months in advance, while a similar proportion booked within the last two months," she said. "This reinforces why we have been calling for a more flexible approach to school holidays.

“Demand for October half-term shows that families want to travel outside the traditional summer peak, and redistributing some of the summer break into October and February would give them more opportunity to do so.”

Advantage's Commercial Director John Sullivan added: "We’re seeing two distinct types of half-term customer. There are those who book early to secure the right flights, accommodation and price for a busy school holiday week, and those who wait to see how their budget, plans or the weather shape up before booking."