Spain tops half-term holiday league

The Canary Islands and mainland Spain have emerged as the most popular foreign holiday destinations for families taking half-term breaks next week. Research by online flight finder travelsupermarket.com shows that traditional resorts are favoured over city breaks. Four of the top five destinations for school half-term are in Spain. The exception is Geneva, demonstrating the popularity of family ski trips at this time of year. The top five destinations are: Tenerife, Malaga, Geneva, Lanzarote and Alicante. But the research reveals that Tenerife is also the most expensive to fly to, while Alicante is the cheapest, with a flight from Manchester leaving on February 14 costing £126, returning the following week. Travelsupermarket.com found that Manchester offered the greatest range of the cheapest flights to the five destinations, followed by Gatwick and Birmingham. Director Chris Nixon said: “With the number if travellers soaring over the half-term period aggravated further by it tying in with Valentine’s weekend, it is bound to make it an expensive time of year for any family to travel.” Report by Phil Davies