April 22 (Good Friday), April 25 (Easter Monday), April 29 (the royal wedding) and May 2 (May Day) are all bank holidays, meaning travellers have two chances to enjoy a long weekend away without using any of their holiday allowance, or can embark on a longer break and use just a small portion of their annual leave. For example, most people departing for a 10-night holiday on Good Friday will have to take only three days off work.

About two million of Britons are expected to head overseas, with the large number of bank holidays offering an unprecedented incentive to escape for a break.

The threat of strikes by British Airways cabin crew has failed to dampen appetites – the airline says it will operate all its flights from Gatwick and London City, and all long-haul flights from Heathrow, if strikes do occur – and bookings for Easter have risen sharply,

Among the most popular destinations are Portugal – where bookings over the Easter period are 90 per cent higher than last year – Malta, where sales have risen 22 per cent, and Turkey.

The flight-comparison website Skyscanner has reported a sharp rise in late bookings for Easter, with mid-haul beach holidays proving more popular than city breaks. Searches for April flights to Faro, Tenerife and Istanbul are also up.

Algarve Car Hire also experineced a great rise for the Easter period, about 40% more than last year and with car rental prices about 20% lower.

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