International car hire company Auto Europe has witnessed a recent sharp rise in bookings for UK-based trips during the busy school holiday periods.

According to Auto Europe’s commercial director for the UK and Ireland, Peter McAree, car rental figures for British destinations during the 2009 February half term, and looking forwards to the Easter holidays, have more than doubled in comparison to 2008. This indicates that many more families are substituting foreign resorts with a bargain break closer to home.

“We’re still receiving bookings for the traditionally popular places for spring, like Spain, France and Portugal, but the number of cars being hired within the UK is up dramatically compared to the same period last year,” explained McAree. “There are some fantastic deals available across the country right now, and as budgets get tighter, more people seem to be taking advantage of them more than ever before.”