The Rio Olympics, good weather and some incredible bargains have all led to easyJet Holidays reporting that for the second year running, September holidays have proved more popular than July departures.

The tour operator received 72% more holiday bookings for September 2016 than for July, which is traditionally seen as the peak month for holidays. An increase was also seen in 2015, when the figure was 53%.

Among the destination winners in 2016 were:

The Costa Del Sol & Costa Dorada had an astonishing 148.23% more bookings for September than for July. Adult only guests travelling in September stayed 1.2 days longer than in July and 17% more of them opted for a 4 star rather than 3 star hotel.

Tenerife benefited from 109.62% more bookings for September than July. Adults travelling in September were able to take advantage of some great value for money prices on offer, with a 300% increase in 5 star bookings. Despite that, the average cost was 28% less than the cost of travelling in July.

Rome also proved popular in September with 93.1% more bookings than in July. Adult only bookings departing in September for 4 star hotels increased by 176.7% and cost on average 10.76% less. In addition, stays were 13.84% longer.  

The French city of Paris had 67.86% more bookings for September than July and 96% more adults travelling in September. One of the most popular destinations for Paris, Disneyland, makes up 55% of adult-only bookings and was 21.76% better value in September.

Majorca had 64.13% more bookings for September than July with adult only-stays in September lasting on average 10.52% longer.

The Algarve saw an increase of 52.7% for September bookings, with those choosing an Autumn trip staying on average 13.5% longer than those travelling in peak season.

Overall, September Adult only holidays were 13.16% longer than in July, averaging 5.6 days.

Many holidaymakers took advantage of easyJet holiday's £60 per person low deposit scheme, with 26% more September travellers making their initial holiday booking with a deposit-only.

Mandy Round, easyJet Holidays commented “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 2 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.

“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. They also know that easyJet Holidays offers great value for money. 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.”

easyJet holidays offers competitively priced, flexible package holidays to a wide range of destinations including city breaks, beach and ski holidays. Customers can choose from a wide selection of hand-picked 3 to 5 star hotels including big name brands located in more than 1,600 resorts in 33 different countries. All package holidays sold in the UK are ATOL protected.

For more information visit www.easyjet.com/holidays or call tel: 020 3499 5232.

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Destination images of Paris and Tenerife are available here: https://we.tl/sZLo5CX8pZ

For more information: Emma Waddell, emma.waddell@easyjet.com, tel: 07545 190887