Brits ‘tired and stressed’ after holidays

As millions of Brits return from their summer holidays a new survey by comparison site Gocompare.com has revealed that not all of them do so feeling ‘relaxed and refreshed’.

The poll of 3,000 British holidaymakers has revealed that only 39 per cent believe that what they paid for their holiday was money well spent, while almost a fifth of travellers admit they will still be paying off their 2011 summer holiday in 2012.

Over 14 per cent said they came home feeling tired or stressed and 13 per cent said they had spent too much money. Meanwhile, four per cent wished they had never gone on holiday.

British tourists make up the highest percentage of foreign tourists to Malta, although the survey gave no indication of where the respondants had been on their summer holidays.

Value-for-money concerns topped the list of holiday spoilers for Brits, with 31 per cent saying things cost much more on holiday than they thought they would.

Twenty-five per cent complained about bad weather and 23 per cent said the resort didn’t live up to the brochure description.

Despite what they say about British taste in food, 17 per cent complained about disappointing food while another 14 per cent were left annoyed at the behaviour of their fellow British tourists.

Over 18 per cent of travellers had suffered delays either getting away or coming home, 14 per cent said a member of their party had been taken ill or was injured while away, and six per cent of holidaymakers reported being a victim of a crime.

Yet over a quarter of holidaymakers admit they don’t always buy travel insurance when going abroad. Seven per cent say they never buy it while four per cent don’t buy it because they have a European Health Insurance Card.

Jeremy Cryer, head of travel insurance at Gocompare.com, said: “While there is little we can do about the weather spoiling our holiday, we can take steps to be better organised financially and better protected should the worst happen when we are abroad.

“Budgeting for a holiday should include some contingency planning for extra meals out, trips or gifts.”