ABTA, The Travel Association estimates that over five million people will be heading abroad over the Christmas and New Year period (19 December to 4 January), with 19 December set to be the busiest day for departures and Christmas Day the quietest.

This time of year is the one of the most popular times for overseas travel, particularly for those with young families taking advantage of the two week break and spending quality family time together with someone else doing the cooking!

Holidaymakers are looking for winter sun or a traditional snowy Christmas. ABTA members are reporting strong sales for mainland Spain, the Canary Islands, Portugal and Turkey. Other popular winter sun destinations include Palma de Mallorca, Dubai and Sharm El Sheik.

Those in search of festive fun are heading for Christmas market breaks in Tallin, Gdansk, Vienna and Cologne. For a more traditional Christmas experience in a snowy destination, the ski resorts of France, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavia lead the way.

For party goers looking to celebrate the New Year in style, the most popular overseas city break destinations this year include Amsterdam, Barcelona, Budapest, Dublin, Geneva, Milan, Paris, Prague and Rome.

The Christmas getaway in numbers

Millions of people will be leaving the country through the major airports, all of which are reporting high, in some cases record, numbers. 700,000 are set to depart from Stansted, 400,000 from Luton, in addition to around 750,000 leaving from Manchester, 250,000 from Birmingham and 225,000 from Bristol. Heathrow is expecting its busiest December and Christmas Day ever.

Hundreds of thousands of passengers will be leaving from Scottish airports; Edinburgh is reporting that over 120,000 will be departing over its five busiest days.

A significant number of people are also travelling across the English Channel by ferry and through the Channel Tunnel or setting sail on a cruise.

Mark Tanzer, ABTA Chief Executive said: “Christmas and New Year is always one of the busiest times of year and this year is no exception with some airports reporting record numbers travelling overseas. It’s perhaps not surprising given how much importance people place on their holidays, and we know at this time of year they’re a great opportunity to have a well-earned break or reunite with friends and family.

“ABTA members will be working hard to help people’s plans go as smoothly as possible. We’re encouraging travellers to be mindful that the roads will be very busy, so leave plenty of time to arrive at your departure port or if using public transport, check for engineering work and scheduled closures of services. Also, if you are heading to the slopes this Christmas, make sure you have the right travel insurance for your trip.”