The popular UK based travel firm used details of bookings made between the 1st July and 31st December 2015 to create their list of favourite holiday destinations.
(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - January 12th, 2016 - Once again, the A1 Travel report makes for interesting reading. It clearly shows that British holidaymakers are turning back to their traditional favourites, and are deciding to stay close to home. All of the destinations in their top five are in Europe.
Spanish holiday areas claim four places on the list. This is not really a big surprise given the fact that Foreign & Commonwealth Office statistics show that 12 million British citizens visit Spain, every year. The last slot on the ‘top five’ list went to Portugal.
Majorca claimed the number one spot. Every year around six million tourists visit this idyllic holiday island. Usually, just over a third of them are from the UK and that seems to be the case this year too.
In second place is the Costa Blanca. This includes destinations like Benidorm and Torrevieja. These resorts remain very popular with the British, but other places like Altea, Albir, Calpe and Mutxamel are starting to attract more visitors too.
Alicante is also proving a popular destination as consumers increasingly seek out city breaks. The fact it has two nice beaches, great shops and good connections with Madrid makes it ideal for those who want plenty of options when they travel.
Third is another Spanish island, Tenerife. Even during the coldest months of December, January and February daytime temperatures rarely fall below 17C, which is why it is so popular year round.
Fourth on the list is the Algarve, Portugal. This area is also experiencing growing visitor numbers. Many of them are British. Over the past few years, the number of Brits choosing to holiday in the area has risen by around 12%.
In fifth place is the Costa del Sol, which runs along the coastline of Andalusia. Its combination of long sandy beaches and warm climate attracts around 8 million visitors every year. Again, visitor numbers are increasing as a new generation discovers this exciting part of Spain.
Exactly why more British holidaymakers are choosing to stay closer to home is not 100% clear. However, many in the industry believe that unrest in popular holiday destinations like Greece, Tunisia and Egypt is the main reason behind the trend. Whether this will continue to be the case in 2016 remains to be seen, but the early signs are that it will.
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