More Britons opting for long-haul travel

Britons are increasingly choosing to travel further afield for their holidays, research suggested today.

Insurer swiftcover.com said nearly one in four of the travel insurance policies it sold was now for a long-haul destination, compared with one in five just five years ago.

Britain is Malta's biggest tourism market, with well over a third of tourists to Malta being British.

The research found, however, that a growing number of Britons are likely to choose an exotic destination.

One in four people would like to travel to a tropical island for a once-in-a-lifetime trip, while 14% would like to explore ruins such as Machu Picchu in Peru and the same proportion would like to go somewhere they described as being "off the beaten track", such as India or China.

Around 10% of people said their dream holiday would be an African safari.

Many would also like to incorporate some adventure into their holiday, with 23% saying they would like to go white-water rafting, while 16% would like to do a parachute jump and 6% would like to go rock climbing.