Holidays outside eurozone growing fast

[February 19th 2009]

Holiday destinations outside the eurozone are growing at the fastest rate according to new figures.

Figures for January from travel website directline-holidays show that destinations with the largest year on year growth are all in non-EU countries as travellers look to avoid the euro on holiday and get more for their money.

The most popular winter sun destinations are still the old favourites such as the Canaries, Spain, the Algarve and Egypt where sunshine is almost guaranteed, but directline-holidays has noticed a sea-change in consumer behaviour.

“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,” comments directline-holidays sales director Matthew Flint.

“We have been surprised at just how quickly 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,” Flint adds.

Data from directline-holidays shows that non-euro Egypt is one of the most popular destinations for a winter sun break. The statistics reveal that Sharm el Sheikh has continued to grow strongly in popularity. But other Red Sea resorts further south such as Hurghada and Marsa Alam have grown even more strongly, with bookings increasing by more than 100%.

The directline-holidays figures show that one of the fastest growing destinations is Kenya. The company says that consumer demand has increased by more than 200% following increased stability in Kenya.

ABTA member directline-holidays gathers together holiday offers from major tour operators including First Choice, Thomson, Thomas Cook, Virgin and Airtours, as well as from many specialist tour operators.

The company is currently offering winter sun holidays to the Canaries from £118, Cyprus from £129, Tunisia from £135, Egypt from £225, Morocco from £239, Gambia from £253, Madeira from £255, Goa from £300, Kerala from £340, Kenya from £329, Jamaica from £490, Barbados from £550, the Maldives from £839, and Mauritius from £956.

Written by: Nick Purdom

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