British holidaymakers don't appear to be holding a grudge against Portugal for knocking England out of the World Cup - since England's exit there has been a surge in bookings of Portugal holidays.
A survey of holiday bookings by online travel agency, www.freedomdirect.co.uk has revealed that the Algarve is now the third most popular summer holiday destination among their customers - rising from sixth place in June.
The surge in bookings for holidays in the Algarve began on the same day that England lost to Portugal on penalties after extra time.
Nick Jackson, Commercial and Marketing Director of www.freedomdirect.co.uk says: "It's good to see that people aren't put off going on holiday to Portugal just because Ronaldo winked in a dubious way and it's great (if surprising) to see such an increase. It would be interesting to see if Portuguese visitor numbers to the UK have dropped because Wayne Rooney 'accidentally' put his foot down in the wrong place!"
Nick attributes the popularity of holidays in Portugal to the wide variety of affordable hotels in the Algarve and the high quality of the Algarve's resorts. Because of the variety of places to stay, Portugal appeals to a wide range of holidaymakers.
