Portugal hots up for invasion of the Brits

As schools across the country break up for the summer holidays this week, ebookers, one of Europe's largest online travel agents, reveals that according to booking data*, Saturday 25th July is Britain’s emptiest day with thousands of travellers jetting off from on their summer breaks to destinations across the World.

The ebookers data also reveals Portugal to be the top short-haul holiday hotspot for Brits this summer with travellers ditching the traditional bolt-holes of France and Italy to experience the excitement of Lisbon, Faro and the Portuguese island of Madeira.

And contrary to reports of Brits tightening their belts in the wake of the recession, it’s not just South Western Europe which is seeing an influx of visitors as long-haul destinations such as Bangkok, New York, Las Vegas and Dubai are all experiencing an increase in holidaymakers due to some great deals on offer.

The data also revealed:

• Far-flung city breaks are rising in popularity as Brits seek out sights and culture rather than relaxing beachside breaks

• The most popular days for travel are Thursday and Friday as families seek to capitalise on cheaper week-day fares as soon as the schools break-up for summer

• The average length of a family summer holiday this year is one week with Brits moving away from the traditional fortnight in the Med

• Despite temperatures in Dubai reaching 42°C, Brits are still flocking there in the coming weeks

Top short-haul destinations

Lisbon
Malaga
Funchal
Faro
Athens

Top long-haul destinations:

New York
Las Vegas
Dubai
Orlando
Newark

Claire Howard-Jones, Head of Marketing at ebookers comments: “Like most travel companies we have been working hard to bring down our prices this summer to help families across the UK enjoy their week in the sun. And, it seems to be helping as we have seen a large number of bookings for July and August with some surprising long-haul city break hotspots emerging. We still have some great deals on offer though with our holiday sale this July, with every holiday on sale. So we’d advise travellers to go online and check out our best deals to bag themselves a summer holiday bargain!”

The ebookers holiday sale runs until the end of the July with offers available at ebookers.com.

* The booking data that is referred to is for bookings for travel out of the UK during July and Aug 2009 that were made before 1st July 2009.