A new report has shown that over £22 billion of the UK’s economy is made up from travellers buying British products before going away.

So, if you’re spending too much on items such as clothes, sun cream, toiletries and travel agent services then take solace in the fact that you’re helping the UK’s debt recovery!

According to a study, which was enabled by the travel company Abta, an average of £532 per person is spent before even reaching the airport to head off to sunnier climates.

And it doesn’t stop there, as almost £1.8 billion is spent at the UK duty free shops inside the airports to get holidaymakers in the mood before they actually leave the country, showed the figures from the Centre for Economics Research.

Mark Tanzer, chief executive of Abta, said: “For too long it has been assumed that by going abroad on holiday, money is being taken out of the UK economy.

“The Government must recognise and support outbound travel in its current and future policies and planning strategies to deliver growth to the wider economy.”

Not only does the sector contribute hugely to the economy but it also directly employs around 620,000 people and makes up for 2.6% of all people in full-time jobs, which is significant in today’s job market.

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Around six million Britons are set to jet off on holiday around the Queen’s Jubilee Bank Holiday at the beginning of June.

The figure from the Association of British Travel Agents suggests that a host of people are taking advantage of the extra day off, which means that most people only need to take three days off work to have a consecutive nine-day break.

There is reported to have been a 50% year-on-year increase in bookings and searches for the week of the Jubilee, and UK travel website lowcostholidays insists that “unreliable and miserable British weather” is a major contributing factor.

Schools are also on holiday during that week and Greece in particular is providing a huge number of bargains, with managing director of Jewel in the Crown Holidays, Platon Loizou, confirming that many operators have lots of packages left to sell.

“After all the demonstrations, they can’t shift holidays for love nor money; seven nights with accommodation on Zante and Corfu start at £129, flight-onlys from £125,” he said.

There are even “buy one, get one free” offers available and Olympic Holidays are trying to encourage people to travel to the Greek Islands and Cyprus with better than half-price packages from Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast and Glasgow.

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It would appear that an increasing number of holidaymakers are considering the environment after it emerged that a third of people want holidays to have environmental ratings.

According to this year’s ABTA Consumer Trends Survey, 33% of holidaymakers want such a measure implemented, up from 29% in 2010.

ABTA estimates that this totals approximately 10 million people taking holidays abroad, with 38% of women supporting the idea. Almost half (49%) of those people who take the most number of holidays a year want environmental ratings for their breaks.

Another way holidaymakers can reduce their carbon footprint while still enjoying an overseas break is to take a bus to the airport, and with regular services to and from most major airports in the UK, passengers are likely to arrive at the terminal refreshed, relaxed and, most importantly, on time for their flight.

According to the survey, it pays to be eco-friendly as it emerged that companies that adopt green practices could be more successful, with 19% of respondents revealing they would be prepared to pay more for a holiday with a company that has a reputation for being environmentally and socialy responsible.

The Travelife Sustainability System, for hotels and other holiday accommodation, ranks environmental and social practices.

The scheme awards gold, silver and bronze ratings to accommodation providers based on their practices.

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A survey of UK holidaymakers has revealed that we most like to kick back on the beach with our families when on our ideal overseas break.

The beach holiday was voted the most popular type of break in a poll of thousands of sunseekers carried out by the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) for its annual Consumer Trends study.

City breaks came second in the destination stakes, along with going away with a significant other. Cultural trips and breaks with friends were voted the third most popular choices. Whichever option or combination of options holidaymakers go for, arranging an airport transfer before travelling can take a lot of the stress out of the trip.

Beach holidays scooped 37% of the popular vote, with those aged between 35 and 44 being especially keen to feel sand on their feet. Men were less keen than women to jet off with their partner. Some 45% of women are keener to holiday with their partner than men at 38%.

Mark Tanzer ABTA Chief Executive said: “Our customers’ ideal holiday choices are incredibly wide and varied and our survey gives a fascinating insight into what they like to do and who they like to share their ideal holiday experiences with.”

Up to a fifth of British tourists go on holiday without having travel insurance cover in place, a new survey has found.

Research by travel organisation Abta revealed that more than a quarter of holidaymakers are under the impression that the UK Government will cover their medical bills for them if they fall ill or injure themselves in a foreign country. But this is not the case.

A total of 2,018 consumers were questioned in the poll, which found that only 44% of people bought travel insurance for trips in the UK. The findings of the survey were released at the Abta annual convention in Palma, Majorca.

Travellers looking to enjoy a stress-free holiday are advised to leave themselves plenty of time to organise their trip so they can sort out their travel insurance as well as other important things like accommodation and airport transfers.

The survey also showed that the top priority among people from the UK booking a holiday was safe and secure accommodation.

Beach holidays were found to be the most popular among families, while city breaks were most favoured by couples.

The most popular holiday destination among families was Spain, followed by the UK, USA, France, Greece and Italy, according to the survey.

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Spain is the most popular family-friendly holiday destination among Britons, according to a survey compiled by travel organisation Abta.

Britons aged between 35 and 44 named Spain as their favourite family-friendly holiday destination, and with the availability of cheap flights from UK airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton, it is not hard to see why.

The UK, which finished in second place, was particularly popular with tourists aged over 55, while America took bronze, thanks largely to its theme parks and hospitality.

France and Greece rounded off the top five, finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

The results of the survey were revealed at the annual Abta convention in Palma, Majorca, in Spain – to the great delight of the locals no doubt.

Mark Tanzer, Abta chief executive, said: “For many years Spain has been our favourite overseas holiday spot. One of the main reasons for this has been the amazing welcome and facilities that Spain and its people offer to families.”

Ignacio Vasallo, Spanish Tourist Office director, added: “We are delighted to see that even in tough times families continue to see Spain as their preferred holiday destination.”

Italy, meanwhile, missed out on a place in the top five and had to settle for sixth place, while Turkey was seventh, pipping neighbours Cyprus in eighth, while Portugal and Australia rounded off the top 10.

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Nearly half a million people will be flying out of Gatwick, Stansted and Luton this weekend, a survey has revealed.

The poll carried out by travel organisation Abta found some 1.8 million people overall expect to fly out of the UK over the bank holiday, with Spain and its islands being the top destination.

Around a quarter of a million people are expected to be flying from Gatwick, with 125,000 leaving Stansted and 70,000 jetting out of Luton.

Other popular destinations with sun-seeking Britons are Portugal, Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt along with the Greek islands.

Meanwhile, the main city break spots are New York, Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam and Rome.

It comes as road safety charity Brake and insurers Direct Line warned drivers of bank holiday traffic after a poll found some 71% of motorists had been distracted while at the wheel in the last 12 months, with inconsiderate road users being one of the main reasons for their lack of concentration.

Brake senior campaigns officer Ellen Booth said: “All too often these casualties result from careless errors that could easily be avoided if drivers gave their full attention to the road. If you are so upset or angry that you can’t give driving your full attention, you need to pull over and cool off.”

With the roads expected to be busier than normal, drivers have been warned to take care getting to the airports and may want to consider getting an airport transfer for a safe and stress-free start to their bank holiday break.

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The chairman of the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) has criticised the Government’s decision to rule out expansion of airports in south-east England.

Speaking at an Abta-organised travel conference in London, John McEwan feared the decision would mean Britain would not be as competitive in the future. 

He also revealed that he did not think the Government’s proposals to strengthen the financial protection process for holidaymakers went far enough, while it needed to further reform the Air Passenger Duty (APD) airport departure tax.

Mr McEwan insisted it is “disappointing” that the Government had decided against airport expansion in the region, which includes the likes of Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick and Luton.

He said: “We don’t think this is acceptable. It means that, over time, Britain will lose its international competitiveness.”

Mr McEwan believes it is necessary for the travel industry to ensure customers are confident about travelling and claimed that Government plans to improve holiday protection only covered around half of travellers.

He said: “We want to see every holiday protected, regardless of how it’s booked.”

Although Mr McEwan said he welcomed the Government’s decision to defer this year’s rise in APD until next year, he believes more could be done.

He added: “We believe we need to go a great deal further on APD. It’s not about the level of tax, it’s about the fairness of tax.”

Treasury Minister Justine Greening told the conference that whichever way APD was reformed “there will be some anomalies – it’s inevitable”. Asked about future aviation taxation, Ms Greening said: “As we reduce the deficit, it’s not easy to move away from tax revenues already in place.”

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