The Advantage Travel Partnership is reporting a surge in Easter holiday sales this year, with bookings up by 15% on the same period last year.
The family market has seen ‘particularly impressive’ growth, Advantage says, with the percentage of bookings featuring at least one child increasing from 21% in 2024 to 25% this year. Advantage’s top winter sun destinations this Easter are Tenerife, Antalya and Costa Blanca; and Orlando, Mexico and New York for longhaul.
Advantage says family bookings for summer 2025 are slower, as was the case last year. It says this suggests a growing trend of families looking to get away during other times of the year, particularly during the Easter break, to secure better deals and to travel when temperatures are cooler.
The consortium says long-haul bookings have accelerated from January into February, suggesting families are discovering that destinations further afield can be more cost-effective during school holidays than European alternatives, particularly in regions like Thailand and the Far East, where local costs remain attractive.
For example, two weeks for four people in a four-star self-catering property in the Balearics in August costs around £4,500 – the same price as a holiday for four in Thailand, where resort costs are lower. As a result of this, Advantage says it is seeing a 5% shift from short-haul holidays to longhaul for this summer.
Chief Commercial Officer Kelly Cookes said: “It’s unsurprising that destinations such as Tenerife, Lanzarote and the Costa Blanca continue to be popular for Easter breaks as they can be reliably sunny and good value for travellers. They also offer a wide range of facilities and activities for all ages.
“We often see people travelling slightly further afield to destinations such as Orlando earlier in the year to try and beat the summer crowds and queues and avoid the hotter summer months. We believe that Orlando will continue to be a destination to watch as it’s set to have a bumper year with the new Universal Park Epic Universe opening in May.
“Overall, the US market is experiencing robust growth, with Orlando and New York leading the charge, however Nashville is also seeing rising interest, driven by the growing popularity of country music.
“It’s interesting to see that long-haul is proving popular and we anticipate that the popularity of shows like White Lotus set in Thailand and Love Island All Stars filmed in South Africa will further fuel interest in these destinations for 2025 holidays.
“We can expect to see cruise grow in popularity partially due to the continued growth of capacity in the sector with the introduction of additional ships. 2025 will be a big year with new ships across ocean, river and expedition cruising, with MSC, Uniworld, NCL, Celebrity Cruise, Royal Caribbean and Virgin Voyages all bringing on new additions to their fleets.”
