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Busy Easter weekend ahead as tourists flock to Spain

Good Friday will be the busiest day for travel over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

An estimated two million holidaymakers are set to head overseas across the four days, according to Abta.

Spain is the most popular Easter foreign holiday destination, with the Costa del Sol and the Canary and Balearic Islands the top regions.

The Algarve in Portugal and southern Turkey will also be busy, the travel association claims.

Abta members are also reporting that Florida, Cuba, Cape Verde, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Thailand have all sold well.

Paris, Rome, Barcelona and New York are among the top city break choices, while high altitude resorts continue to attract end of season skiers.

Bookings for UK breaks are also healthy with many people travelling to traditional seaside resorts, national parks and holiday camps.

Airports are reporting strong numbers with 425,000 leaving from Heathrow, 250,000 from Gatwick, 153,000 from Stansted and 87,000 from Luton.

Regional airports will be busy, with 150,000 flying from Manchester, 70,000 from Birmingham, 50,000 from Bristol and more than 100,000 from the Scottish airports.

Other regional airports, ferry terminals and the Channel Tunnel will also be “extremely busy” over the weekend.

Liverpool John Lennon airport expects 63,000 passengers between Good Friday and Easter Monday, with numbers about 7% higher than last Easter with an extra 5,000 passengers.

Eurostar is reporting that 82,000 passengers will be departing the UK with Paris the most popular destination.

Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “Whilst many families may have already begun their Easter break, the Easter weekend is always a busy time of year for the travel industry with many holidaymakers taking advantage of the bank holidays to grab some much needed sunshine or a trip to one of the world’s great cities.

“The roads will be busy, so we would recommend leaving a little extra time to get to your port of departure and if using public transport, to check in advance for engineering works.”

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