A new survey by the European Commission has found that for 22% of British holidaymakers, the beach is where it’s at as far as their main summer holiday is concerned.
The survey, carried out by the Eurobarometer monitoring program, questioned more than 30,000 people aged 15+ spread out across all the EU countries. It found that chilling out by the beach was the second most popular reason for Brits to go on holiday, followed by rest and relaxation which was favored by 41% of respondents.
The UK’s leading online travel agency On the Beach says that the British preference for sunshine, sea and sand can be put down to the proliferation of activities and great deals on continental resorts in sunny getaways such as Greece, Turkey and Majorca that are available for UK tourists.
On the Beach Marketing Director Alistair Daly explained, “We are not surprised by these figures, as we know that our customers are always keen to get away to sunny places in Europe. It’s become something of a tradition for UK families to go to the beach in the summertime, and now due to the huge number of cheap package deals available, everyone can afford to do so.”
The popularity of European resorts is due to their relaxing atmosphere, explains Daly, adding that places like Majorca, Greece and so on provide everything a family needs to relax.
“They have it all; great restaurants, comfortable hotels and superb weather – perfect for our customers to relax and unwind. It’s no surprise at all really that so many Brits want to jet off to the beach.”