Spain ‘top choice’ for UK tourists

Scottish tourists travelled the furthest on foreign holidays this year while Londoners took the longest time away, according to a report.

Research from travel comparison site Skyscanner revealed popular destinations for Scottish travellers to be the US, Thailand and Australia.

According to the Travel Trends report, Spain remained the top destination overall for UK tourists.

Londoners take the longest holidays, with the average break lasting 12 days, followed by Mancunians with 11 days and Geordies with 10.

People from Liverpool not only stay the closest to home – typically France, Portugal and Spain – but also book the shortest holidays, averaging at five days.

The research showed France is the world`s most popular destination, with 80 million tourists arriving annually.

A busy summer in the UK with the London Olympics and the Queen`s Jubilee could be responsible for Britain leap-frogging over the US into second place.

The report highlights other trends across the country, with Mancunians shown to be the most organised as they search for flights 85 days in advance.

The hottest new destination according is reported as Burma, which has seen a 125 per cent increase in searches followed by Lithuania (122 per cent) and Slovakia (116 per cent).

India is fast becoming a firm favourite, with flight searches soaring up 66 per cent on last year, ahead of Australia and the UAE. China has also seen a 64 per cent increase in interest.

Yesterday was expected to be the most popular day to travel nationally – but not in Scotland, where July 1 is the favourite date to fly.

Skyscanner’s Sam Poullain said: “Another wet summer has seen millions of Brits jet off to sunnier climes and it’s fascinating to see the regional differences, in the choice of holiday destinations.

“Despite the double dip in the economy, there has still been a huge increase in long-haul flight searches including India, China and Burma; prov-ing the British traveller is as adventurous as ever.”