Majority of Brits unable to identify half countries in Europe
Nearly two thirds (63%) of British adults can identify less than half of the countries in Europe, according to new research.
Many British adults could not find the most popular European destinations on a map, including Switzerland (45%), Spain (15%), France (11%) and Italy (8%) even though the majority have visited at least one of these countries on holiday.
The most popular European destinations that people love to visit…but don’t know where they are:
1. 81% couldn’t locate Costa Brava
2. 63% couldn’t locate Costa del Sol
3. 53% couldn’t locate The Algarve
4. 37% couldn’t locate Ibiza
5. 28% couldn’t locate Normandy
The least known European destinations (percentage of adults who could not locate the following countries on a world map):
1. Lithuania (81%)
2. Slovakia (80%)
3. Romania (78%)
4. Ukraine (71%)
5. Croatia (71%)
More than half (62%) of UK adults confess that they don’t even check a map to see where in Europe they are going before travelling to their destination.
Sixteen 16 per cent (the equivalent of seven million) admitted that they can’t even remember when they looked at a map, eight per cent of adults (the equivalent of nearly four million) last looked at a map when helping their child with their homework and four per cent confessed that the last time that they looked at a map of Europe was in a school geography lesson.
Sixty per cent thought there were less than 30 countries in Europe and 19% didn’t realise that Britain is part of the European Union.
Many respondents to the LateRooms.com survey had not even heard of some countries – more than one in ten (11%) believe that Iceland isn’t in Europe – eight per cent thought it was part of North America – and 13% think that Moldova
is somewhere in Asia, South America or Africa.
Tony Walsh, development director at LateRooms.com, said: “With Europe being such a popular holiday destination for us Brits, it’s quite astonishing that so many people were unable to identify popular holiday resorts, such as the Costa Brava and Costa Del Sol.
“The increase in budget airlines has meant travelling to an array of destinations is a lot easier – meaning hopping on and off transport without actually looking on a map to see where you’re going is becoming the norm. As the research shows, a lot of us clearly need to brush up on our geography.”
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025