Long haul flights are continuing to grow in popularity as British travellers seek out exotic destinations this summer, according to the latest findings from a flight comparison website.
While holidays in Spain are still the top choices for most Brits heading abroad, with Alicante, Malaga and Palma being the three most searched-for destinations on Skyscanner for summer 2010, all the new entries to this year’s top 10 list are long haul flights, indicating changing trends compared to last year.
Skyscanner co-founder Barry Smith explained: “Last summer there were no long haul destinations in the top ten and Spain took seven of the top ten places. This summer, it looks like budgets are a little bigger with more people taking flights to New York, Orlando and Bangkok.”
Mr Smith also noted that the recent travel disruptions caused by eruptions of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull do not seem to have had a lasting influence on peoples’ travel plans, stating: “So far the ash doesn’t seem to be putting people off from travelling further afield.”
Following the top three Spanish destinations in Skyscanner’s list was Portuguese city Faro, while Turkey holidays in Dalaman arrived in fifth place.
New theme park attractions in Florida, such as Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter, also seem to have made an impact on the choices of British travellers this summer, with flights to Orlando entering the list at number nine.
