Fly to Let owners worried about the predicted fall in people taking holidays overseas this year will be please by reports that the cheap flight website Skyscanner saw an unprecedented spike in user traffic last month, reflecting a surge of late bookings which has led to record visitor numbers.

Typically Skyscanner experiences its highest levels of user traffic at the start of the year, with the majority of people booking their summer holidays during January and February.

However, this year user patterns are very different.

Following the January 09 rush, Skyscanner experienced a second spike of traffic in March and then another clearly defined spike in May with user traffic 24.5 percent up on the January spike.

Skyscanner director and co-founder Barry Smith said: “The tough economic times may be changing the way people book travel, but they are definitely still travelling, even though financial uncertainty may make them more cautious about booking a long time in advance.”

The top ten European summer destinations for British travellers searching on Skyscanner are:

1. Malaga
2. Alicante
3. Palma
4. Faro
5. Dalaman
6. Barcelona
7. Tenerife
8. Ibiza
9. Murcia
10. Paris

Data from Skyscanner also shows that tourist interest in Mexico is recovering, following the Swine Flu outbreak which hit the country in April 09. Searches for flights to Mexico have risen by 15.5 percent since they reached their lowest point in early May 09, after health fears deterred travellers from visiting the country.

Although some travel companies did suspend their holidays to Mexico, the Swine Flu virus did not cause the widespread death and disruption that was initially feared, and the Foreign Office has now lifted its warning against 'all but essential travel' to Mexico.

Smith added: “Our data shows that travellers are rarely deterred for long. Just look at Thailand. In December 2008, thousands of holidaymakers were stranded during major political protests which closed Bangkok’s two main airports. But this summer the country is the most popular long haul destination for UK travellers.”

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