18/04/2013 00:00
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By Humphrey Carter

PALMA

CLASSIC beach break holidays are the most popular destinations for British travellers this Easter, with Malaga, Tenerife, Alicante and Palma in the top ten hot spots for UK holiday makers, according to Skyscanner.

Searches for flights to Tenerife saw the single biggest rise in popularity compared to Easter 2010, jumping a huge 21 places into the number two slot. And while last Easter Skyscanner reported a fall in interest in Spain, the British love affair with Spain appears to be back on, with Malaga, Tenerife, Alicante and Palma taking the top slots.

However, with the extra holiday this year due to the Royal Wedding, mid-haul spots have also risen in the charts, with New York and Istanbul hot on the heels of the top three sun spots.

New York was up one place on last year while Istanbul saw a considerable rise in popularity, moving up a whopping 11 places compared to Easter last year.

City break destinations appear less popular this Easter; although Amsterdam and Barcelona remain in the top ten, both dropped four places compared to last Easter. Rome dropped two places to ninth position, and Paris, Dublin and London dropped out of the top ten altogether.

Gareth Williams, Skyscanner CEO commented: “Malaga and Alicante remain immensely popular with the British, but it also looks as though people are taking advantage of the extra Royal Wedding holiday and going a little further afield this Easter with Tenerife, New York and Istanbul all up considerably compared to last year. This has come at the expense of city break destinations which have all dropped significantly this Easter. The fact that London doesn't even appear in this year's top ten certainly seems to suggest that many Brits are trying to escape the hype around the Royal Wedding ”. Over all UK bookings for the Balearics are up by 13 percent, compared to last year, out shining the German market, and last Easter, Palma failed to make the top ten Easter destinations ranking.

Those coming to the Balearics will not miss out on the celebrations because Royal Wedding street parties are being organised the length and breadth of Majorca, for example, so, providing the weather stays fine, British holiday makers in Majorca will be able to enjoy the best of both worlds.