Average holiday spend down, says survey
Brits spend €2579 (£1,744) on their average holiday, more than any other European country.
But the UK figure has dropped slightly compared to 2006 when the average holiday budget was €2795 € (£1,892).
These were some of the findings of a survey of 3,500 European travellers by Europ Assistance.
The survey found the average holiday spend in Germany is €2025, €2029 in Italy, €2006 in France and €1910 in Spain.
According to the survey, British travellers holiday more often, use the internet more for booking their next holiday and are increasingly worried about terrorism whilst on their travels.
Nearly half of Brits (47%) say they intend to travel more than once in 2007, compared to a European average of just 23%.
The survey found that 39% of British travellers declared the threat of terrorist attacks would have an impact on their holiday period while just 25% said a threat of a natural disaster would impact their choice of destination against a survey average of 27%.
According to EA, 51% of British travellers use the Internet to book holidays, compared to 39% of Europeans.
“The survey reinforces the British public’s love of holidaying and how they not only have the highest budget for holidaying but they also travel more than their European neighbours,” explained Charles Walckenaer, managing director of Europ Assistance UK and Ireland.
“It goes without saying that the internet now plays an integral part in the process of researching and booking a holiday, but what is interesting is the impact that issues such as terrorism and health risks are having on holidays.
“European travellers are very resilient, but it’s obvious they have these issues on their minds and safety is now much more of a consideration for countries like England and Spain than ever before.”
The survey was completed by research specialists Ipsos in France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Austria.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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