The majority of the population has yet to make any plans for the Easter and royal wedding back to back bank holiday weekends, a new poll has shown.
The findings show that 70%, rising to 76% of over-55s, have yet to plan anything for the consecutive bank holidays on April 22-25 and April 29-May 2.
The poll of 2,523 adults found that 43% of those with plans are looking to take a holiday or short break.
This demonstrated the enduring popularity of the Bank Holiday getaway and points to a rush of late bookings, according to the poll commissioned by MPG Media Contacts.
Visiting friends and relatives or taking a holiday/short break are the most popular activities among those planning to use the extended holiday time across all age groups
A nation with time on its hands and no plans suggests great opportunities for advertisers to help capture last minute travel bookings over mid-April and driving retail footfall over the consecutive weekends, according to MPG.
Meanwhile, Thomas Cook has added 100,000 extra holidays over the period covering the two bank holidays “as people are clearly keen to make the most of all these public days off being so close together”.
A spokesman said: “We’re seeing a lot of interest for those wanting to make the most of Easter, the Royal Wedding and the first May Bank holidays being so close – with taking only three days annual leave people can enjoy an 11 night holiday.
“Turkey and the Canaries are proving popular and of course there are some great value deals to be had in Tunisia and Egypt too.”
New York is gearing up to attract visitors with special hotel rates in April in an attempt to lure Brits away to celebrate the royal wedding on the other side of the Atlantic.
NYC & Company George Fertitta said: “This is the wedding the whole world will be watching—and if you can’t be in London for the big day, there’s no better place to celebrate than New York City.
“We’re excited to welcome visitors from the UK who are planning to travel during this time period to take advantage of their extended bank holiday.”
Several New York City hotels are planning viewing parties and offering royal wedding packages for visitors and New Yorkers to join in the celebration.
American Airlines is has special fares for the weekend of the royal wedding to encourage travellers to fly to New York.