September holidays have proved more popular than July getaways for the second year running, according to easyJet Holidays.
The budget airline’s holiday arm received 72% more bookings for September 2016 than for July, which is traditionally seen as a peak summer month for holidays.
The operator cited people staying at home to watch the Rio Olympics in August, good weather and ‘incredible’ bargains for the surge in September breaks.
Overall, September adult-only holidays were 13.16% longer than in July, averaging 5.6 days.
Many holidaymakers took advantage of the operator introducing a £60 per person low deposit scheme, with 26% more September travellers making their initial holiday booking with a deposit-only.
EasyJet Holidays general manager Mandy Round said: “We had a good July, with as you might expect a predominantly family driven market, but it is September holidays that have now become the most popular.
“There was a noticeable increase last year, but the fact it occurred for two years running would suggest it is an emerging trend.
“We believe that trend was exaggerated this year as people made the most of the good weather in the UK and stayed at home to watch the Olympics.”
She added: “Our customers are savvy and know that they benefit from our wealth of experience as an airline. They are always on the look out for new destinations to explore and our ever expanding programme allows them to do just that.
“If they choose to travel away from the school holidays, they will enjoy quieter resorts and get better value for money – meaning they can afford a second off-peak trip and still stay within their budget.”
The most popular destinations last month were the Costa Del Sol and Costa Dorada with 148.23% more bookings for September than for July. Adult holidymakers travelling in September stayed 1.2 days longer than in July and 17% more of them opted for a four star rather than a three star hotel.
Tenerife saw 109.62% more bookings for September than July, with a 300% increase in five star bookings. Despite that, the average cost was 28% less than the cost of travelling in July.
Rome attracted 93.1% more bookings than in July with the length of stay being 13.84% longer.
Paris had 67.86% more bookings for September than July and 96% more adults travelling in September. Disneyland Paris accounted for 55% of adult-only bookings and was 21.76% better value in September.
Majorca saw 64.13% more bookings for September than July with adult stays in September lasting on average 10.52% longer.
September stays in the Algarve increased by 52.7% in September bookings, with people staying on average 13.5% longer than those travelling in July.