1.8 Million Brits expected to flock abroad this bank holiday weekend

As the final bank holiday of the year falls upon us, ABTA has launched findings this week that 1.8 million Brits are expected to head abroad this weekend in search of sun and relaxation.

The great British summer (despite its heat waves during July and August) has not deterred people from heading across the water to foreign destinations.  Are we heading off in search of new cultures, global exploration or simply to experience somewhere new?  No.

Where will we head to then?  No great surprises here if our past blogs are anything to go by; Spain remains the most popular overseas destination for us Brits to hang our ‘sun-hats’.  This is closely followed by the Balearic and Canary Islands (both with their Spanish influences and warm climates).  And, you’re not going to believe this but Barcelona is the most popular choice for city breaks this bank holiday (Spain again?)  Yes, it seems that Spain is the winning choice for so many ‘home-comfort’ searching Brits. Clearly we all yearn for somewhere warm but with the security of English-speaking people and cuisine we know and trust – we all know what paella looks like; sorted.

But don’t forget, travel five or ten minutes out of the tourist-rich destinations and you’ll probably find that most locals don’t speak a word of English – so it might be time to brush up on your Senorita’s if you plan to take the plunge and move away from the hotel poolside at any point.

But we like to think that one size doesn’t fit all.  There must be some travelling adventurers left out there?  And we don’t mean bungee jumping in Mexico or white water-rafting in Iceland either; we’re talking about the section of the population who simply like to visit new places, learn about new cultures and see a bit of the world.

Heathrow will be the busiest airport this weekend with around 425,000 passengers jetting off on their overseas travels, closely followed by Gatwick and Luton airport.