Almost four million people will be escaping the UK this Christmas and New Year period with the peak travel days for overseas trips predicted to be tomorrow (December 21) and Saturday.
Millions of people will be leaving the country through the major airports, which include Heathrow where 1.7 million are estimated to be leaving, Stansted 300,000, Gatwick 700,000 and Luton 125,000.
A further 320,000 will leave from Manchester, 116,000 from Birmingham, and 75,000 from Glasgow.
An estimated 52,000 will be departing from Edinburgh airport and 56,000 from Bristol over the weekend.
Many hundreds of thousands will also travel across the Channel by ferry or through the Channel Tunnel, with 160,000 heading off on the Eurostar and Paris being the favourite destination, according to Abta.
Bumper snow levels are attracting people to ski resorts in France, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, with the week around the new year traditionally the busiest of the season.
Many families are taking trips to Lapland to see Father Christmas and the Northern Lights, which are predicted to be especially active this winter due to increased solar activity.
Travel companies report festive demand for winter sun in destinations such as the Canary Islands, Tunisia, Cuba and Mexico. Other travellers will be flying to Australia, South Africa and New Zealand for Christmas.
Others will also be taking UK breaks in country hotels and cottages.
Popular for New Year’s Eve breaks are Paris, Rejkyavik, Rome, Dublin and New York.
Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “Christmas and New Year is traditionally the busiest time of year for the travel industry with millions of people heading off overseas for some winter sunshine or guaranteed snow.
“This year is no exception and the ferries, railways and airports will be very busy over the festive season. With a White Christmas looking unlikely in the UK, thousands are heading off to the alpine resorts of Europe, where there has been some of the best snow fall for years, to experience the magic of a traditional Christmas.”