Spain and France still a hit with Brits
Friday, 25 Nov 2005 08:17
Barcelona Cathedral: Spain is Britain's favourite holiday destination
Spain and France remained the favoured holiday destinations of Britons last year, official data shows.
Combined, the two countries accounted for 40 per cent of all visits abroad by UK residents in 2004, with 13.8 million visits to Spain and 11.6 million visits to France.
They were evidence of a wider trend as nine out of the ten most popular countries among UK residents in 2004 are in Europe – the only exception being the USA.
Data from the International Passenger Survey, however, shows that UK residents tended to spend more money during trips outside of Europe.
The average spend per visit to 'other countries' was £892, compared to £823 in North America and only £374 in Europe.
This is partly reflected by the average length of visit, which is 23 nights to other countries, 14 night to North America and eight nights in Europe.
The figures also show that despite the advent of the internet and the rise of the independent traveller, many Brits still enjoy package holidays – which made up just under half of all holidays abroad.
Overall, Britons made a record 64.2 million visits abroad in 2004 – a five per cent increase on the previous year – including both holidays and business trips.
And they spent a record of £13 billion – a ten per cent or £1.2 billion increase on 2003 and the first time spending had exceeded pre-2001 levels when the tourist industry was hit by the terrorist attacks on the US.