British holidaymakers returning to Turkey: Thomas Cook

LONDON (AA) - British holidaymakers are returning to Turkey and package holiday bookings to Turkey are currently up 84 percent year-on-year, a global travel company said Monday.

“Package holiday bookings to Turkey are currently up 84 percent year-on-year while Egypt bookings have increased by 89 percent year-on-year," according to Thomas Cook's 2018 Holiday Report.

"Turkey’s growth is being driven by families who make up 61 percent of package bookings for this summer. Egypt is similarly popular with over half (51 percent) of overall bookings coming from families," the report added.

“So far this summer, Turkey is the standout destination for British holidaymakers and we are seeing substantial growth in bookings compared to last year. With just one week to go until the summer holiday season officially begins, Egypt and Tunisia are also selling well with price and quality driving a return to these much-loved destinations,” said Chris Mottershead, managing director for Thomas Cook, U.K.

Based on summer 2018 bookings to date, Spain (combining mainland, Balearics and Canaries) comes out on top for the second year running.

"Turkey is at number three but is, in fact, currently outselling mainland Spain and the Canary Islands combined," according to the report.

The top five destinations for summer 2018 is listed as Spain (mainland Spain, the Balearics and the Canary Islands), Greece, Turkey, U.S. and Caribbean.