City breaks are the No1 holiday choice for Brits – putting beach breaks in the shade for the first time.
Forty-two per cent of people have taken a city break in the past year compared to 38 per cent opting for a beach, revealed travel association ABTA at its annual convention in Ljubljana (above), Slovenia.
Top 10 holidays taken in year to July:
- City break 42%
- Beach holiday 38%
- All-inclusive holiday 16%
- Lakes and mountains 10%
- Music event 8%
- Cruise 7%
- Activity or sporting holiday 6%
- Coach holiday 6%
- Train holiday 5%
- Major sporting event 4%
Victoria Bacon, ABTA head of communications, said: “The strong pound has encouraged people to take more short breaks. A teo or three-day break is a good introduction to a city.”
The research, part of ABTA’s Consumer Holiday Trends Report 2014, shows 25 to 34 year olds were the biggest fans of city breaks with half flying off, closely followed by 35-44 year olds (45%).
They are also popular with me, 45 per cent heading to a city, as against 39 per cent of women.
Every age group loves beach holidays but particularly young people with nearly half of 16-24 year olds heading to the sands.
ABTA also revealed that:
- Men are more than twice as likely to head overseas for a stag party compared to women when choosing a hen do.
- Brits expect to spend more money on their holiday next year.
- Demand for package holidays is up with 46 per cent of people booking a package last year.
- People still want travel agents even though more holidaymakers (18%) are booking a break on a tablet or even a mobile (17%).
- The number of people taking a holiday with their extended family has doubled.
