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‘Sunshine Saturday’ forecast to be busiest day for holiday bookings

This Saturday (January 11) is predicted to be the busiest day of the year for holiday bookings, Thomson and First Choice forecast.

More than one million people are expected to go online or visit high street agencies on what is being dubbed ‘Sunshine Saturday’.

The prediction is based on booking patterns over the last four years as the Tui Travel operators expect 35,000 people to book in 24 hours.

Bookings are predicted to peak in-store at 2pm and online at 8.45pm.

Meanwhile, more than half of the online bookings made this Saturday are expected to be made via mobile and tablet devices.

The most popular short-haul destinations are expected to be Greece, the Balearics and Croatia, with Jamaica, Mauritius and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico among the top long-haul destinations.

Thomson Cruises’ Pride of Panama itinerary on the Thomson Dream from its new winter home port of Montego Bay in Jamaica is expected to be a bestseller.

Thomson and First Choice marketing and digital director Jeremy Ellis said: ‘With Christmas firmly out of the way many people want a holiday in the sunshine to look forward to.

“Over the last few years we’ve seen a trend towards booking holidays earlier and with record bookings over Christmas we’re expecting the rush to continue with our busiest day of year this Saturday.

“It’s also the perfect time for Brits to take advantage of some of the great January deals available to places like Greece and Croatia or further afield to Jamaica and Mauritius.”

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