Favourite Overseas Destinations
There are more Brits travelling abroad than ever before. We're being attracted by warmer weather, improving accommodation quality and a plethora of cheap flights. Looking at data provided by the Office of National Statistics, it is clear that overseas travel has never been so popular.
In 1997, UK residents made a total of almost 46 million trips abroad. By 1996, the figure has grown by 52% to almost 70 million trips. At a time when the government and environmental campaigners seem to be attempting to reduce the number of flights that we take, it is clear that many of us are voting with our feet and choosing to take our holidays overseas.
Breaking the figures down by country, we're able to see the most popular destinations for UK residents:
1. Spain, 14.4m
2. France, 10.8m
3. Ireland, 4.7m
4. USA, 4 million
5. Italy, 3.4m
6. Germany, 2.7m
7. Greece, 2.4m
8. Netherlands, 2.4m
9. Portugal, 1.9m
10. Belgium, 1.8m
11. Turkey, 1.4m
12. Cyprus, 1.3m
13. Poland, 1.2m
14. Switzerland, 1.1m
The figures make interesting reading.
Fall in Greek tourism numbers
There has been a definite dropping off in the numbers of visitors to Greece, once such a favourite with travellers looking for hot weather and golden beaches. As tourist numbers to Greece fall, it seems that visits to Spain continue to rise, while Turkey is seeing an undoubted increase in popularity.
Turkey, sharing a similar climate to that of Greece, appears to be viewed as a more accessible destination now than it once was. Spain has always been a popular destination but its rise, taking it above France, can possibly be explained by the number of UK residents who have purchased property in Spain. Trips to the country will include those taken by owners of second homes and visits from family or friends.
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