‘Sunshine Saturday’: UK travel firms gear up for busiest bookings day in years

Bumper time for early bookings predicted as industry holds out for post-Covid return of foreign trips

UK travel firms are preparing for the busiest day of holiday bookings in years, as the traditional peak season arrives free of Covid restrictions and with demand fuelled by Britons hoping to escape strikes and constant crisis.

The travel industry's Sunshine Saturday", the first day off after the new year return to work, used to be the most popular time to book a foreign holiday before coronavirus. But foreign travel was largely off limits this time in 2021 and 2022, while hundreds of thousands of bookings made in January 2020 were postponed or refunded when the pandemic hit.

Spain

US

France

Italy

Greece

Portugal

Germany

Australia

Turkey

Cyprus

Austria

Thailand

Canada

The Netherlands

The United Arab Emirates

Ireland

Croatia

Mexico

Switzerland

Norway

Egypt

Iceland

Belgium