Over one million Britons visited Turkey in 2008

The decrease in the value of the pound against the euro has led to increasing numbers of British holidaymakers soaking up the sun in Turkey and Egypt, according to a new survey conducted jointly by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and the Foreign Office, the Guardian reports.

It was found in the survey that bookings for summer holidays in Egypt were up by 38 per cent, while those for Turkey had risen by 32 per cent. Bookings for traditional holiday destinations, such as Greece and Spain were said to be stable.

Holiday bookings Turkey have now reached two million, and one million people have bought Egypt packages, said the ABTA. These numbers fall far short of the 12 million visiting Spain each year, but steady annual growth is being seen, the survey demonstrated.

A spokesman for the ABTA has cited the credit crunch and its impact on disposable income in the UK – as well as the declining value of the pound against a number of currencies – for the change, the Guardian report noted.

Spain remains the most popular holiday destination for Britons, with more than 12 million visiting annually, according to figures obtained from the British Office for National Statistics.

France follows in second place, with 7.5 million Britons visiting each year, and Italy comes in third, with 2.5 million British visitors. For 2008, Turkey came in eighth, with 1.2 million UK holidaymakers choosing the destination outside the euro zone.

www.abta.com