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 | | Thursday, 28 March, 2002, 19:08 GMT Easter sun attracts the crowds  More than two million journeys will be made in England The chance of fine weather at home and abroad has led millions of travellers to join the Easter get away. Nearly two million holidaymakers are expected to leave the country by air over the weekend, with the Mediterranean being the most popular destination. Another half a million are expected to cross the Channel bound mainly for France, the Netherlands and Spain. More than 2.5 million trips are expected in England over the weekend, raising hopes of a boost to tourism after last year's foot-and-mouth disease crisis. Holiday lift-off For those destined to remain in the UK the weather is set fair with temperatures expected to reach 17C (63F) in south-east England, above average for the end of March. More than 1.75 million British holidaymakers are heading abroad, with the Canary Islands, mainland Spain, Majorca, Ibiza and Portugal the most popular short-haul destinations. Orlando in Florida remains the number one long-haul holiday spot. Heathrow airport in west London had its busiest day of the Easter break on Thursday, handling 195,000 passengers, a total of 800,000 passengers are expected to pass through the terminal over the holiday period. Possible rain The most popular destinations for Heathrow passengers this Easter are New York, followed by Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin. Around 80,000 passengers were leaving from Manchester airport over the holiday weekend, with 66,000 departing from Luton airport in Bedfordshire and 35,000 from Birmingham.
"London and the South East should be dry and sunny for most of the weekend and we could get temperatures as high as 17C (63F) which is above average for the end of March," said a PA Weather Centre spokesman. "But rain will push into northern England, south-west England and Wales on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday will see some rain in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and northern and south-west England, with the South East staying dry." Tourist officials were hoping that the generally fine weather would boost visitor numbers to attractions and resorts following last year's foot-and-mouth outbreak, which devastated the Easter tourism market. The English Tourism Council said about 2.6 million trips were expected to be taken in England this Easter, resulting in spending of around �40m. Forecasting company CEBR said that English tourism revenues over the Easter fortnight could be as high as �1.1bn. | | See also:  Top England stories now:  Links to more England stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||
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