British holidaymakers head for Turkey

Monday August 4th , 2008

Turkey is proving to be very popular with British leisure travellers this year, it has been revealed.

According to the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), the number of bookings for trips to the country has gone up by 20 per cent this year.

This has been attributed to the fact that it is not in the single European currency, which is now at a record high against the pound.

As a result, taking a holiday in a country which uses the euro is now more expensive than it was this time last year.

Frances Tuke, a spokesperson for ABTA, commented: "Turkey has been a popular market this year, because it is outside the eurozone and British travellers are now familiar with it."

Speaking to the Scotsman, she said the trend of people going to better-value destinations shows that people are unwilling to give up their holidays, even amid an economic downturn.

This comes after the Turkish Statistical Institute revealed that revenues from the holiday sector rose to £2.4 billion between April and June 2008.