Non-eurozone holiday bookings double in January

The majority of UK consumers are on the lookout for guaranteed sunshine in 2009 as the Canaries, Egypt, Spain and the Algarve are once again proving the most popular holiday destinations.

Yet, January figures from top travel website directline-holidays, show that destinations with the largest year on year growth have all come from non-EU countries as more discerning travellers look to avoid the Euro on holiday.

“The Canary Islands, Cyprus and Spain, are perennially popular but with the cost of the Euro increasing, equally attractive options are emerging in non-EU countries,” said directline-holidays sales director Matthew Flint.

“We have been surprised at just how quick our customers continue to adapt to the economic downturn. These latest results show that holidaymakers are far more flexible with their holiday choices than we thought.”

The directline holidays data also shows that within Egypt, Sharm el Sheikh has continued growing strongly in popularity. However, other Red Sea resorts further south such as Hurghada and Marsa Alam have shown increased bookings of more than 100%. In Turkey, holidays in Bodrum and Dalaman are also proving to be extremely popular with consumers looking for more value per pound.

Kenya is also increasing in popularity and directline-holidays are experiencing an increase in consumer demand of more than 200% following increased stability in the region.

For more information, visit Directline-holidays.co.uk.