Bad summer weather 'boosted Xmas breaks'

The bad weather seen in the UK during the summer led to a surge in bookings for Christmas and new year holidays, an expert has said.

According to Sean Tipton of the Association of British Travel Agents, many Britons may have suffered through the below-par summer because they did not book a mid-year break at all, or because they tried to do so at the last minute and failed due to high demand.

Not everyone who opted for a winter break chose a sunshine destination, however. Mr Tipton noted that one-third of bookings were for those locations where there was guaranteed snow.

"[Winter bookings] always do go up every year, but not by that amount. [They] went up from three million to 3.5 million, so that's quite a substantial rise," he added.

Mr Tipton recently commented that holidaymakers tend to ignore city break destinations over Christmas, with many preferring to opt for such locations for their new year celebrations.

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