Bank holiday set to be bumper tourism weekend as 4.5m Britons plan break

THE BANK holiday is set to be a bumper weekend for tourism, with millions packing their bags for trips within the UK and abroad.

An estimated 4.5m Britons are planning an overnight break in England, according to the national tourist board.

The figure was calculated following a survey of 1,214 adults commissioned by Visit England, which found that 8.8 per cent were taking a so-called staycation.

Some 7.6m people are predicted to be planning a day trip, while a further 14.8m are still deciding how to spend the long weekend.

Visit England chief executive James Berresford said: “With 4.5m Brits planning a holiday trip in England this bank holiday weekend, it signifies a real statement of confidence in the breadth of product on offer across the country, from world class indoor and outdoor attractions, a host of events and festivals or coastal and rural destinations to explore.

“There is still time to plan a last minute short break or day trip in England, whatever the weather.”

Meanwhile, the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) pre- dicts 1.9m people will be grabbing their passports and heading overseas from Friday to Monday.

Many are going in search of warmer temperatures, with Abta members reporting strong sales in the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and coastal resorts on mainland Spain.

Trips to Portugal and Turkey have also proven popular.

Abta based its estimate of 1.9m foreign holidays on figures from previous years.

Airports in the South East are expected to be very busy, with about 550,000 passengers departing from Heathrow, 270,000 from Gatwick, 145,000 from Stansted and 87,000 from Luton.

Some 175,000 are due to take off from Manchester while 150,000 will leave from Scottish airports. Hundreds of thousands of people will depart from other regional airports, sea ports and the Channel Tunnel.