Millions of people will be heading abroad over the Christmas and New Year period, 20 December to 2 January reveals ABTA – The Travel Association. This time of year is one of the most popular times for overseas travel, particularly for those with young families. Sunday 22 December is set to the busiest day for departures and Christmas Day the quietest.

Holidaymakers are looking for winter sun or a traditional snowy Christmas. For those seeking warmth and sunshine, the most popular destinations are the Canary Islands, Southern Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Dubai.

For a more traditional Christmas experience in a snowy destination, the ski resorts of France, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavia lead the way.

For party goers looking to celebrate the New Year and winter market lovers, the most popular overseas city break destinations this year include Amsterdam, Budapest, Dublin, Paris, Prague and Vienna.

The Christmas getaway in numbers

Millions of people will be leaving the country through the major airports, all of which are reporting high numbers. 500,000 are set to depart from Stansted, 400,000 from Luton, in addition to around 500,000 leaving from Manchester, 200,000 from Birmingham and 175,000 from Bristol. Heathrow is expecting its busiest December ever, on Christmas Day the airport expects the number of passengers to increase by 21 percent year on year even though it remains the quietest day for travel over the festive period.

Hundreds of thousands of passengers will be leaving from Scottish airports, Edinburgh expects its busiest days to be the three Fridays of December 20, December 27 and January 3.

A significant number of people are also travelling across the English Channel by ferry or through the Channel Tunnel.

Mark Tanzer, ABTA Chief Executive said:“Christmas and New Year are one of the busiest times of year for overseas travel with millions heading off to spend quality time with family and friends.

“Holidaymakers are either looking for some winter sun or guaranteed snow as well as the opportunity for everyone to relax and enjoy themselves with someone else doing the hard work of cooking and clearing up after the festivities.

“We’re encouraging people to plan ahead when making their journeys; public transport and the roads will be very busy so always leave plenty of time to arrive at your departure port to avoid any difficulties. ABTA members will be able to provide advice to their customers about their travels, so do get in touch with them if you have any queries.”