Gender plays a role in holiday choices

When it comes to choosing the perfect holiday, men and women can go off in distinctly different directions, the latest survey from flights comparison site Skyscanner.net can reveal.

While Thailand tops the charts as the country that most men want to visit, for women the South East Asian country only ranks fifth. And while India is number five in the men’s charts, the sub-continent does not even feature in the women’s top 10. Likewise, Austria charts at number seven for the ladies, but does not appear in the guy’s favourites. New Zealand, which is fourth for women, only appears at number eight for men.

Over 400 people responded to the survey, where it was found that gender really does have an effect on desired destination.

To keep both parties happy, couples looking for holiday harmony should book flights to Australia, the US or Italy, which all ranked highly for both sexes.

Skyscanner search data for the most popular destinations shows that flights to Spain top the charts. While only 17 per cent of men claim they call the holiday shots, and the majority of couples believe destination choice is a joint decision, Spain was actually the seventh most popular destination for men but didn’t even make the women’s top 10, proving perhaps that men have more holiday power than they realise, or admit to!

Once on holiday more compromise is required because although both sexes agreed that sightseeing and dining were the favoured holiday pastimes, gender stereotypes then come into play. Sunbathing is the third top choice for women, while men only rank it as sixth in their pastime preferences.

Shopping is the fifth most popular holiday pastime for women while men were far less keen on hitting the shops, scoring it as the ninth most popular pastime.

Men, however, seem to enjoy a drink on holiday with this pastime taking the fourth spot, while women ranked it in only ninth.