While the Spanish island retains its coveted pole position, just ahead of Dalaman in Turkey and Tenerife, it’s the Greek islands that have seen significant increases in popularity in recent weeks.

Directline Holidays CEO, Maria Whiteman explained: “Sales to Larnaca in Cyprus rose 28 per cent in July compared to June, and while Corfu was up by 21 per cent, Rhodes saw an increase of 5 per cent. The increased popularity of the Greek islands is due to recent economic events enabling competitive pricing.”

Figures from the online travel agency show that while Paris and Dublin retain their places as the most popular city break destinations, newcomers including Cologne, Dubrovnik, Malaga, Porto and Seville are now on the map. The top ten favourite city breaks (in order of sales) booked in July were Paris, Dublin, Barcelona, newcomer Krakow with an increase in sales of 70% year on year, Rome, Venice, Amsterdam, Brussels, Prague and Berlin.

Whiteman continued: “This summer we’ve seen Brussels and Prague replace Edinburgh and Madrid in the rankings, suggesting British citybreakers are still keen to head overseas, providing some especially good news for the Irish economy as Dublin city breaks are up 76% on last year. The trend for booking late endures, with 37% of July city break bookings for travel in August.”

In addition to seeking summer bargain breaks, holidaymakers are looking ahead to book warm winter getaways. Whiteman said: “Algarve, Tunisia and Morocco, despite recent events, are both proving popular for winter holidays due in part to great deals combined with their mild winter weather.”

source: breakingtravelnews.com

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