PASSPORT (check), holiday documentation (check), luggage (check) - destination?

That’s the question many holidaymakers will deliberate when booking their annual vacations.

Spain tends to be one of the popular choices for Brits venturing abroad but many more countries are vying for a place in the top 10 when it comes to enticing travellers.

While uncertainty around Brexit may have had an impact on holidaymakers’ travel choices - whether holidaying at home or abroad value for money and affordability is a priority for most travellers - it doesn’t seem to be putting people off their annual getaway.

Heading off on holiday is something most people look forward to - time to relax and chill-out, to break free from the hum-drum of the weekly routine and a reward for all the hard work - for some it’s not something they would forego despite the uncertainty over Brexit.

So for those who are heading off - what are the popular destinations?

Award-winning holiday company, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, whose headquarters are based in Yeadon, is delivering its biggest ever programme from Leeds Bradford Airport this summer with 49 destinations on sale - according to one of their team.

They include brand new Chania (Crete), Izmir (Turkey) and Bourgas (Bulgaria).

“These brand new destinations are proving to be popular with Yorkshire holidaymakers, as are destinations such as Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Krakow, Spain, the Balearics and Canary Islands,” says a Jet2.com and Jet2holidays spokesman.

“Holidaymakers are looking for more choice, so as Yorkshire’s leading airline and tour operator we are able to offer multiple weekly flights meaning that customers can choose more flexible durations when travelling to their favourite sun and city destinations across Europe, the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands.”

Tom Holdsworth, Aviation Development Manager at Leeds Bradford, says they have 2.5 million seats on sale for summer 2019.

“So we expect another busy summer,” says Tom.

“Our most popular destinations for the summer tend to be the traditional destinations such as Alicante, Malaga and Palma. But we are also seeing a resurgent market into Turkey and people looking to fly long haul from their local airport by connecting in one of the hubs of Heathrow, Amsterdam or Dublin.”

With regard to Brexit, Tom says: “We have seen that non EU destinations have performed stronger than previous years due to the poor exchange rate between the pound and euro. Tour operators have tended to look to increase services to destinations outside of the EU and we have seen a good increase in the amount of passengers flying off on cruise holidays as holiday makers seek out the best value for money deals.”

Tony Mann, director of Idle Travel, based at Enterprise Five, Five Lane Ends, Idle, says this month destinations popular with travellers booking through his business are:- Tenerife; Costa Dorada; Lanzarote; Majorca; Costa Blanca; Costa Del Sol; Antalya Turkey; Crete; Ibiza and Rome.

“The top ten is for this last month and, in general for the whole year, other places that have sold really well are Portugal, Costa Brava and Minorca,” he says.

Short flight times - of under three hours - and familiarity are among the reasons why they remain popular destinations - according to Tony.

“Turkey is selling well and that is down to value for money,” he says, adding that Bulgaria is ‘probably the cheapest beach resort you can find.’

Croatia has also seen growth over the past couple of years, which Tony believes has been helped by the popularity of Game of Thrones filmed in Dubrovnik.

“We have also found that many customers have taken a second break and have been booking City breaks after their main beach break with Barcelona, Rome, Krakow and Iceland as some of the destinations being on many wish lists.

“People now can easily travel to all these destination that they read about, see on TV and find on social media that bring these amazing places to life,” says Tony.

Established over 35 years, Idle Travel is a successful independent travel business. Tony believes while many holidaymakers are happy to book online, some prefer to discuss and book their travel arrangements with independent travel experts such as Idle Travel. It provides a more personal experience - Tony and his team get to know their loyal customers and have the knowledge and expertise to give an insight into holidays that would suit their needs.

And when it comes to the burning issue of Brexit they are up to date with the latest travel information which, for some, can be confusing when they start trying to navigate it online.

Talking of Brexit, Tony says it doesn’t seem to be stopping holidaymakers from booking their holidays abroad. When the so-called divorce from the European Union was due to take place at the end of March, people were certainly conscious of the impact it would have and Tony says it was on people’s minds much more than it is now.

“People have stopped mentioning it now and are fed up and getting on with what they are going to do,” says Tony.

“We are finding in some ways it is good for us because people are coming back into the agencies because they want advice.”