Expedia.co.uk has launched the 2012 Expedia Beach Report which crowns Jersey as having the best British beaches, and paints an interesting picture of the real British holidaymaker: in common with travellers around the world we can’t stay away from the beach with even more of us planning a beach holiday this year than last. Yet in comparison with European sun-seekers, we are relatively starved of beach holidays and driven by cost and our obsession with the weather.
The report also shows that Spain dominates the Expedia top 20 beach destination list for UK travellers, revealing widespread demand for the traditional Spanish beach holiday. The Channel Islands features within the top 10, highlighting its suitability for seaside-loving Brits looking for a holiday closer to home vs. popular long haul beach destinations such as Florida.
UK travellers’ best beaches: ¡Y Viva España!
Spain dominates as leader with its beach credentials, occupying five places in the top 20 list of best beach destinations for UK travellers, and the Iberian Peninsula accounting for the top 3. The average travel time for Brits to head to any seaside resort is 7.4 hours, compared to our European counterparts, who will travel further to reach their ideal beach spot.
Top 20 Beach Destinations for UK Travellers:
1. Balearic Islands, Spain
2. Algarve, Portugal
3. Malaga & Costa del Sol, Spain
4. Sorrento (Penisola Sorrentina), Italy
5. French Riviera, France
6. Malta
7. Canary Islands, Spain
8. Morocco
9. Lake Garda, Italy
10. Channel Islands, UK
11. Cyclades Islands, Greece
12. Miami, Florida
13. Croatian Coast
14. Cyprus
15. Alicante & Costa Blanca, Spain
16. Devon and Cornwall, UK
17. Valencia & Costa Azahar, Spain
18. Monterey, California
19. Costiera Amalfitana, Italy
20. Bournemouth, UK
Expedia.com®, the world’s largest online travel agency, also released the results of the 2012 Flip Flop Report, an analysis of behavior and preferences among beachgoers inNorth America,South America,Europe,Asia andAustralia. Harris Interactive, on behalf of Expedia.com, conducted the online study among 8,599 adults in 21 countries.
Among other findings, Expedia’s Flip Flop Report revealed that the beach is by far the favorite destination for the majority of the world’s travelers. The average beach holiday is just about one week in length, at 7.7 days. Combined with results from Expedia’s Vacation Deprivation® study(1), we can see in the US that Americans spend a full 40% of their allotted vacation days at the beach. In fact, when Americans were asked to choose between spending time at the beach and spending time with family, the beach won handily.
Full details on the 2012 Flip Flop Report can be found here: www.expedia.com/flipflop.
