TWO MILLION Britons are escaping the royal wedding drama to enjoy hot spring weather with eight holidays, which many of them are extending to 11 days by taking three days off this week.
Britons are enjoying a four-day Easter holiday weekend and the wedding day holiday combined with May Day holiday on next Monday will give Britons a rare two consecutive four-day weekend holidays. Seventeen per cent of Londoners have taken extra three holidays to extend their break, according to PwC. It estimates that six million Britons will be taking extra holidays.
“It is the ideal break to go for, with schools and universities closed, and just having to take a three-day holiday from work,” said Mary John-Smith, a retired nurse and grandmother, who was shopping for clothes at Oxford Street for her family holiday in the Lake District.
Britons are thronging to Spain, their favourite foreign holiday destination, and the Canary Islands and the Costa del Sol are the most popular areas for British tourists in that country. Other popular holiday destinations include Egypt, Tunisia, Florida in the United States and Dubai.
“Easter is the traditional curtain raiser to the summer and the Royal Wedding bank holiday has given a special boost to bookings. I am delighted to see that so many of our customers are taking advantage of the extra days off either heading off overseas or taking a break closer to home,” John McEwan, chairman of travel association ABTA, said.
Britons are not just going abroad for a holiday, the traditional seaside resorts of Blackpool, Bournemouth and Brighton are full of holidaying Britons. Prime Minister David Cameron in on a holiday with his children and wife Samantha in Cornwall, Labour leader Ed Miliband is holidaying Wales and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg in Norfolk. However, the three politicians will be back in London on time to attend the royal wedding on Friday.
“Edinburgh and Manchester lead the way for city breaks and bookings are strong for cottages in Cornwall, East Anglia and the north of England. ABTA members are reporting very strong bookings for the Channel Islands and Isles of Man and Wight,” the travel association added.
More than a million extra tourists are expected in London for the royal wedding and early estimates show that the long holiday would help the economy to the tune of £1.2 billion over the 11-day period by increased spending on travel, shopping and food and drink.