According to several estimates provided by The Travel Association, ABTA, about 3 million British people are said to be travelling abroad during the Christmas season from 17th December to 3rd January. Following the heavy snow that Europe has experienced, the ski season is said to have started early this year.

Over the coming weeks, Geneva is expected to be one of the many famous gateways that will be luring winter sports enthusiasts. Other cities like New York, Paris, Dublin and Amsterdam are also among the popular places to travel to during the festive season.

However, the ABTA did reveal that a majority of people are being motivated by the winter sun. This has led to hotspots like the Caribbean, Egypt and Tenerife to become the top-most holiday destinations this Christmas. Chief executive of ABTA, Mark Tanzer said that holidays, particularly during this time of the year, can offer people happy lifelong memories. It also gives people the chance to spend quality time with friends and family.

He added that even as passengers booked to fly with British Airways are relieved that they can enjoy their long planned holidays, the Association feels sympathetic to those affected by Globespan collapsing. Over the Christmas period, it is estimated that the busiest UK gateway will be Heathrow Airport with about 1.5 million people who will be using the hub.

If you are looking for something different and a less popular holiday destination, Antigua is a great place.

This is a striking island located in the West Indies and the capital is St. Johns. Beautiful blue waters, constant sunshine and a rich history make this a wonderful holiday destination. The best part about Antigua is that you can now get cheap holidays to this wonderful destination. Cheap holidays to Antigua can be made very exciting thanks to the number of activities offered.

Sights - There are a number of sights spread all over the island. These range from some of the numerous beaches to various towns. Some of the popular sights are Jabberwock Beach, Dickenson Bay, Betty’s Hope, Ffryes Bay and Devil’s Bridge

Culture and history - You can also visit a few of the island’s cultural and historical sites when you go to Antigua. St. John’s Cathedral is a must-visit historical spot. Shirley Heights, Monk’s Hill and Fort James are also great places to visit as they can give you a sense of the island’s history.

Sports - Antigua also offers holidaymakers a number of sports that make their holidays to the island more fun and exciting. The island’s favourite sport is cricket but hoildaymakers can also find a number of golf courses. Water sports include jet skiing, sailing, windsurfing, kite surfing and a few others.

You can also visit Dockyard Museum and Museum of Antigua and Barbuda to get a more in depth account of the history of the island.

When thinking about your dream holidays in Antigua, possibly the first thing that comes in your mind is the calmness and bliss, or simply an adventurous and memorable time. Antigua is regarded as the ultimate luxury destination for vacations. It is also one of the most famous islands and a must see destination in the Caribbean Sea for those who wish to go on the lavish cruises to the Caribbean Islands.

Antigua also features as many beaches as that of the days of a year. It is a haven for water sports and sea lovers, since there is nothing that you cannot do here. Diving, snorkelling, sailing, discovering the reefs, island hopping, and scuba diving or simply enjoying the everlasting sandy beaches are some of the things that you can do in Antigua. If you do not care much about the beaches of Antigua, it is still the place to visit as much as its culture is concerned.

Antigua’s capital, St. John’s, located in the northern part of the isle is one of the wonderful places to visit. In fact, cricket and the English language are both the part of Antigua’s culture. This culture stayed in this region, thanks to the inheritance of the British imperialism. The island and country of Antigua are extremely popular among westerners, particularly the English speaking ones. So, if you are planning to go on a holiday with your family and looking for great and great holiday deals, Antigua is the place to be.

In the Caribbean, Barbados is probably one of the most famous islands and every year Brits take long sun-soaked holidays in the area.

Now, Carnival Cruise Lines has opened a new attraction in Grand Turk, making it a great excursion for holidaymakers. The first guests to Conch World who were travelling on the Carnival Pride ship on the 9 June had a sneak preview with the grand opening being planned for the autumn period.

Conch World is a number of brightly coloured buildings to celebrate the native queen conch and has taken four years to complete the new attraction, which cost over $1 million.

The queen conch is a snail that is highly valued for its importance to the continued health of the nearby coral reefs. It provides food for lobsters, turtles, sharks and other marine life.

Graham Davis of Carnival Cruise Lines said:

‘The Caribbean is vital to the continued growth and success of the North American cruise industry, and the Grand Turk Cruise Centre and Carnival Corporation are very pleased to support the development of this spectacular and unique attraction. In addition to serving as an example of responsible, sustainable tourism development, Conch World will have tangible economic benefits, including creating numerous job opportunities for the local community.’

Those taking holidays in nearby destinations such as Barbados, the Bahamas and other Caribbean islands should maybe consider this as a new excursion.

A recent partnership has been announced with Royal Caribbean forming a partnership with the Universal Orlando Resort to enable them to jointly offer what they now describe as ‘the ultimate land and cruise vacation’.

Holiday packages have now been made available for three or four night stays at Orlando’s famous holiday resort, a three or four night cruise on Monarch of the Seas in the Bahamas, or a seven night cruise to the Caribbean on the Freedom of the Seas.

The cruise breaks start on 31st March 2009 and the holiday package includes all hotel ‘stop over’ rooms and on-board accommodation. Universal Parks also offers multi day passes and special admissions to particular live events.

President of the Royal Caribbean, Adam Goldstein said: “Royal Caribbean is delighted to partner with Universal Orlando Resort to create this special package for vacationers seeking a unique and truly memorable experience.”

Bill Davis, Universal Orlando president said: “Our guests will not only enjoy some of the most entertaining theme park attractions ever created, but also the world-class experiences and service Royal Caribbean is known for delivering.”

There are also attractions available at the famous Florida theme park based around the most popular films and TV shows such as The Simpsons, Shrek and Jurassic Park.

Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) recently said that it is had signed a 105th member in the form of Biras Creek.

Biras Creek is considered by holidaymakers to be one of the main luxury resorts within the Caribbean and consists of thirty one suites across one hundred and forty acres of Virgin Gorda land which is the third largest of the British Virgin Islands.

The luxury holiday resort is now one of thirty three hotels and accommodation providers which are included within the UK chapter of the CTO; other companies include large hotel brands and all-inclusive family holiday complexes.

There are now over 100 members within the UK chapter of the CTO which covers all holiday industry sectors from tour operators and tourist boards to airlines.

Director of marketing for Europe and the UK at the CTO is Julia Hendry, who recently commented:

“The chapter provides a unique opportunity for all our members to work together [and] pool their resources through joint marketing initiatives. We have just launched a “million homes” campaign with a full-colour 24-page Caribbean brochure, distributed in the national press. Projects such as this would be impossible for most of our destinations, but working together we can really raise the profile of the region.”

An unusual collaboration has just been announced between Sony Computer Entertainment Italia and Costa Cruises for supplying the cruise liner’s ships with PlayStation consoles.

There is set to be an area on the ships that will be dedicated to those holiday makers who are PlayStation fanatics. These areas will be called ‘PlayStation World’ and will be dedicated to the PlayStation 3 and all of its games.

There will also be certain cabins on the ships that are due to be fitted with PlayStation consoles, including the lido deck huge flat screen TV and the teen and children club areas.

Costa Pacifica and Costa Luminosa are Costa Cruises’ newest ships and both are set to be fitted with the new game consoles in May and June this year.

Sony Computer Entertainment Italia’s Marketing Director, Andrea Cuneo, said:

‘Thanks to Costa Cruises, we’re going to take the dynamism and cutting-edge technology of our brand around the seas of the world.’

Costa Cruises’ Fabrizia Greppi added:

‘This partnership will bring to our guests another exciting innovation and another world exclusive feature – the PlayStation, a veritable cult object for all video gamers.’

Costa cruises own 12 fleet ships and sail holiday makers to over 250 destinations annually, including the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Indian Ocean.

Just recently Princess Cruises held their 10th annual awards at a ceremony for popular cruise liner services in and around the Caribbean. Princess Cruises were also nominated for a passenger choice award for the best on shore excursions in the Caribbean region.

The on shore excursion that won the award is The Americas Cup which is a twelve metre yacht regatta tour which is held in St Maarten. This makes this tour the top winning excursion ten years in a row.

There were further accolades that were handed out too, but these were presented on a more individual basis and the turtle encounter and Tiami catamaran were recognised as the highest volume tours of the recent season within Barbados.

The horseback riding and swimming at Chukka Beach was voted as the Turkish and Caicos Islands’ very best and highest volume excursions and the Croydon Plantation tour also went on to pick up an equivalent to this award for Montego Bay in Jamaica.

Princess Cruises’ Steve Nielsen, who is vice president of shore operations in the Caribbean commented:

“Because we place such a great emphasis on high service levels, we feel it’s important to recognise those local tour operators who do a great job of continuing Princess’s commitment to service when our passengers are in port. These local guides and companies are ambassadors for both Princess and their respective destinations.”

The Caribbean itineraries for Princess Cruises will give passengers the unique opportunity to visit a whole host of local attractions, which also include Mayan city, Tulum – an ancient city within Mexico - and the ruins at Chacchoben which are located close to Costa Maya.

This month, Virgin Atlantic has been celebrating its ten year anniversary of running flights to the Caribbean.

Virgin’s Caribbean flights started in September 1998 with a few flights from London Gatwick Airport to St Lucia, Antigua and Barbados.

In the following ten years, Virgin Atlantic expanded their network in the Caribbean islands, running additional flights from London to Tobago and Grenada in 2003, then to Cuba in 2005, new flights to Montego Bay in 2006 and to the Jamaican hotspot of Kingston in 2007.

The airline also added flights from Manchester to Barbados in November of 2005 and also to St Lucia in 2006.

Steve Ridgway, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said: ‘Since we started flying to the Caribbean in 1998, we have carried over 4m British holidaymakers who love the combined appeal of the beautiful beaches and year-round sunshine the Caribbean has to offer. The Caribbean is an important market for us and we are now the biggest operator to the region having added more Caribbean destinations, flying from Gatwick and Manchester to eight destinations on seven islands.’

Virgin Atlantic intends to mark the celebrations in style by hosting a music festival in Barbados, starting on the 30th October and running for ten consecutive days.