Car Hire Comparator Reports Increase in Half Term Long Haul Holidays as Brits Shun Recession

SURREY, ENGLAND, February 21, 2011 (Press-News.org) Carrentals.co.uk, the leading car hire comparator, has found that British holidaymakers are jetting off to long-haul destinations despite Government cutbacks and Air Passenger Duty increases. The 8% rise was from half term February bookings, showing that people are trying to get away this winter.

The results are a direct comparison between 2010 and 2011 February half term bookings, which shows the sheer demand of holidays in far away locations. The most popular locations this year were Cape Town, Jamaica, Auckland, Sydney and Los Angeles.

Managing Director and spokesperson for Carrentals.co.uk, Gareth Robinson, says: "People are certainly benefiting by finding cheap deals on holidays abroad. The travel industry has had some turbulent times over the past 12 months causing them to offer low-cost holidays to entice bookings.

"As the UK has been subjected to sub-zero temperatures and extreme weather conditions recently, people have been itching to jet off to more sunnier climes - evidenced by the extended half term holiday bookings. There has been an increase in bookings for Mexico, the USA and South Africa, as well as the usual winter sun getaway destinations of the Canary Islands, southern Spain and Portugal."

Ski car hire is another area which has seen a marked increase of 30% for Carrentals.co.uk compared to February 2010 half term bookings, with customers jetting off to Salzburg, Geneva and Munich.

"By booking early, customers can take advantage of the best deals around and have a wider range of choice in cars", adds Gareth. "If there are limited or no vehicles available at a certain destination, such as an airport, try to look at the downtown location of where you're staying as they usually have less demand and therefore more of a choice of vehicles."

A week away this half term using car hire at Orlando Airport begins at GBP13* per day, from GBP9* per day at Malaga Airport, from GBP19* per day at Salzburg Airport, from GBP12* at Cape Town Airport and from GBP11* at Abu Dhabi Airport.

As the UK's top comparison site for car hire, Carrentals.co.uk, compares the best deals from top hire car providers such as Alamo, Sixt, Auto Europe, Holiday Autos, Budget and many more. To see the latest deals for rental cars this half term, check out www.carrentals.co.uk

*Prices based on a one-week rental from 19 February 2011 and are subject to change.

About Carrentals.co.uk
Carrentals.co.uk was launched in February 2003 and grew to become one of the UK's leading online car hire companies by 2006.

In 2007 the company re-launched its site to create the first major online price comparator in the travel industry. Using the latest technology the Carrentals.co.uk site now searches up to 50 different car hire websites, providing an impartial comparison of the best prices available in over 10,000 locations.

Websites searched include Alamo, Auto Europe, Budget, Ebookers, Hertz, Holiday Autos, Opodo, Sixt and Thrifty, with the Carrentals.co.uk site quickly comparing prices and allowing customers to refine their search by car type.

The Carrentals.co.uk site also features over 5,000 pages of travel information in a mini-guide format.

In 2008 Carrentals.co.uk was voted Best Car Hire Website in the Travolution Awards, and in 2010 it was Highly Commended in the Best Meta-search/Price Comparison category. To book or for further information visit www.carrentals.co.uk

Media Contact
Rachel Builder, Debbie Williams & Jenny White
Context
T: 01625 511966
F: 01625 511967
carrentals@contextpr.co.uk
www.contextpr.co.uk