Credit crunch: Turkey overtakes Spain as most popular holiday destination

The worsening economic climate is prompting British holidaymakers to look beyond the traditional package holiday favourite, Spain, to the cheaper option of Turkey, new research showed this week.
The Co-operative Travel Company reported that there had been a "seismic shift" in the way Britons were booking holidays this summer. Among its clients, Turkey had overtaken Spain, the favourite package holiday destination since the Sixties.

The independent travel group's findings were based on research into more than 200,000 holidays to its 30 most popular foreign holiday destinations.
The group found that, while bookings to Majorca were down by 13 per cent compared with the same time last year, some 30 per cent more people were booking trips to Turkey..

Co-operative Travel's retail distribution director, Trevor Davis, said: "Bookings from people looking for cheap summer sun have traditionally ensured that Spain was the leading holiday destination. However, this year they are finding the high euro and a shortage of availability means the normal late deals are not available.
"Turkey has benefited most from this trend and we're seeing 30 per cent growth in bookings for holidays across all parts of the country."
Thomson and First Choice believe that economic uncertainties, coupled with the strength of the euro, will prompt more holidaymakers to take advantage of "all-inclusive" or "full-board" breaks where the total price is known in advance.

Top 10 Foreign Holiday Destinations
1. Turkey Dalaman
2. Majorca
3. Crete
4. Turkey Bodrum
5. Algarve
6. Cyprus
7. Tenerife
8. Costa Blanca
9. Sharm el Sheikh
10. Rhodes

(Source: The Co-operative Travel Company)