Travel is still a priority for 83% of Brits

Cheapflights.co.uk, UK website for travel deals comparison, has surveyed 15,124 Brits and found that travel is still a priority despite the recession.

A huge 83% of those surveyed said they had cut back in other areas of expenditure in order to protect their travel budget, proving that holidays remain top of the personal priority list even in a downwards economy.

“Our results are a clear-cut demonstration that Brits are a passionate nation of holidaymakers,” says Hugo Burge, CEO of Cheapflights Media.

“Even - or perhaps especially - when times are tough and wallets are being pinched, the preference is to squirrel away funds for a sunny getaway. We all need things to look forward to, and travel, in search of a little sun, family time and R & R is the luxury that has become something of a necessity for us all,” adds Burge.

To further reinforce the fact that the desire to get away is going strong, 57% of those surveyed said they also took more than one holiday this year. An overwhelming 75% cited their holiday spend for the year would exceed £500 while 66% voted for winter sun as their preferred type of holiday.

Of the 15,124 respondents who took part in the survey, 58% were female while 41% were male and the majority were aged 41 and over. However, 23% fell within the 26- to 40-year-old bracket, showing that the urge to travel isn’t limited to those with more savings, but is even a priority for those with potentially less to spend.

When it came to destination trends, the choices were split, with the strongest performers coming in as Europe at 25%, North America at 18% and Australasia at 17%. The normally popular Middle East showed a lull in popularity, which indicates travellers are more cautious about heading there given recent political unrest in the region.

Given the popularity of winter sun as a favourite holiday type, Cheapflights.co.uk searched its database of this year’s preferred destinations and found the top five to be Bangkok, Sydney, Dubai, Orlando and India. Additional high performers include Las Vegas, Manila and Johannesburg.

To search and compare flight prices for winter sun or any other type of holiday, visit cheapflights.co.uk.