British travellers prefer winter sun holidays to breaks in the cold if a new survey is to be believed.
The study by Monarch Airlines polled 2,400 holidaymakers and found a whopping 75 per cent of those polled preferred time in the sun for their winter holiday over a break in a chillier destination.
With Britain set for a harsh winter according to forecasters, the airline has increased flight numbers to warmer climes over Christmas and New Year.
According to the survey, 40 per cent of all winter sun bookings are made to traditional British favourites, such as the Canary Islands. Tenerife is far and away Brits’ favourite winter beach destination, making up a quarter (24 per cent) of all winter sun flights booked with Monarch. Other Spanish resorts take second and third spot (Alicante, 16 per cent and Malaga, 12 per cent), closely followed by the warmest destination of all, Sharm-El-Sheik (11 per cent).
Brits in the North West are most keen to head for the sun, with 32 per cent of all the airline’s winter sun bookings high flying out of Manchester airport.
However there are still plenty of Brits who are un-phased by the predicted big chill and can’t wait to hit the slopes on a ski break.
Of those who can’t get enough of the cold, Grenoble is the most popular choice for ski-mad Brits making up more than half (56 per cent) of all Monarch’s ski destination bookings, ahead of Friedrichshafen and a new route to Salzburg (both 14 per cent).
The airline’s Ian Chambers said: “Winter sun destinations are always extremely popular, and this year is no exception – with difficult weather conditions predicted for the next few months, it’s no wonder that so many people are keen to get away.”
