Bookings boom after washout summer

September holiday bookings are booming due to the wet summer and the Olympics.

Britons are expected to make 5.7 million trips abroad this month, a survey by foreign exchange company Travelex found.

Of these, around a quarter said they were taking late breaks as they did not want to miss the Olympics.

Nearly half (45%) said they did not take their usual summer break in the school holidays this year, and nearly a quarter (23%) revealed this would be the first time they had gone away in September.

The most popular destination for those getting away in September is Spain, with Egypt and Turkey among other popular spots.

Elvin Eldic from Travelex said: "It's clear that this is a great time of year to be heading away to catch some last-minute summer sun following one of the wettest summers on record."

Mandy Round, general manager of low-fare airline easyJet said: "The Olympics created a party atmosphere that lifted the spirits of the nation.

"As soon as the last race had been run and the Olympic torch extinguished, our holidays website saw an uplift in bookings in September - not just to beach destinations such as Majorca, Egypt and the Costa del Sol but also to city break destinations."