UK holidaymakers choosing more ‘adventurous’ holiday destinations
UK travellers are being more adventurous in choosing their summer holidays than pre-pandemic, according to research conducted by travel insurer Staysure
While Spain, a traditional British holiday destination, remains in the top spot as this year’s most popular destination, more unconventional or far-flung locales have become more popular post-pandemic, as travel restrictions continue to ease around the world.
This includes Canada and Norway, which entered Staysure’s top-10 list for the first time this year, at numbers 10 and seven respectively.
Turkey rose from number six in 2019 to the second-most-popular destination for this year, while Italy has moved into third place, up from fourth in 2019.
The US has also gained popularity post-pandemic, rising from seventh place in 2019 to become the fourth-most-popular destination in 2022.
By contrast, more ‘local’ destinations such as Ireland and France have dropped out of the top 10 post-pandemic, suggesting that the British public may be falling out of love with more local destinations as more exotic places become available again. Greece has also taken a significant plunge, from the second-most-popular destination for 2019, to the eighth most popular in 2022.
In addition, Staysure says that it has seen a 104-per-cent increase in travel insurance policy purchases for the week beginning on 6 June this year, compared with the same period in 2019. The company suggests that the shift is probably due to recent airport disruption and flight cancellations during the spring half term period and Easter holidays. The uptick in insurance purchases may also reflect a growing awareness of the potential costs of travel disruption since the pandemic.
Top 10 destinations for summer 2022
- Spain (including Balearics and Canary Islands)
- Turkey
- Italy
- USA
- France
- Portugal
- Norway
- Greece
- Cyprus
- Canada