An annual survey conducted among British consumers looked at the share of people taking a vacation in the previous 12 months. According to the 2022 study, examining the trips made between September 2021 and August 2022, roughly 45 percent of respondents made a holiday abroad. This figure shows an increase of 29 percentage points compared to the 2021 survey, focusing on the vacations made during the first year of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Meanwhile, the share of Britons taking domestic holidays in the past 12 months rose by five percentage points from 2021 to 2022.

Spain was the most visited country by residents of the United Kingdom in 2023, with approximately 17.81 million visits. This figure was marginally lower than in 2019, prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Meanwhile, France, Italy, and Greece followed in the ranking in 2023; of these, only Greece reported a higher number of visits that year compared to pre-pandemic levels. Spain still a favorite among UK holidaymakers Spain has become a firm favorite among holiday travelers from Britain, as it continually lists as the most visited holiday destination abroad. Beach holidays are popular among Brits in search of warmer climates, and the relative ease and cheapness of package holidays to the Mediterranean make it possible. Along with France and Germany, the UK is one of the key inbound travel markets for Spain. Outbound tourism from the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic As suggested by the figures recorded by the leading outbound travel destinations, the number of visits abroad from the United Kingdom rebounded in 2022 but had not yet caught up with pre-pandemic levels as of 2023, totaling around 86 million that year. As the volume of visits bounced back, the outbound tourism expenditure in the UK also experienced a sharp annual increase in 2022 and in fact exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2023.

Spain was the leading holiday travel destination for residents of the United Kingdom in 2023, with approximately 15.74 million visits. This figure denoted a 15.5 percent increase from 2022. France, Greece, and Italy followed in the 2023 ranking.

Monthly estimates of overseas residents’ visits and spending and visits and spending abroad by UK or Great Britain residents. Also includes data on purpose of visit, area visited by UK residents and area of residence for overseas residents.

Annual estimates of visits and spending by UK residents abroad. Also includes data on nights, purpose, main country visited and mode of travel. Breakdowns by length of stay and nationality are covered. In 2019, new methods were introduced for this dataset. The 2009 to 2019 edition supersedes all previous time series editions of this dataset. We advise against using all editions listed before the 2019 edition.

According to a survey conducted in 2019 and 2022 among British consumers, beach holidays were the most popular type of vacation for Britons. In the 2022 study, looking at the trips made between September 2021 and August 2022, 34 percent of respondents claimed to have taken this type of holiday. While travel to beach destinations experienced a drop of seven percentage points compared to the 2019 survey, city breaks recorded an even higher decrease over the same period, ranking second in 2022.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact Britons' outbound holidays? Although most Britons traveled abroad for vacation purposes both before and during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the number of outbound holiday visits from the UK declined by nearly 85 percent from 2021 to 2019. As the volume of travelers shrunk, the outbound holiday expenditure from the UK followed a similar trend, amounting to around eight billion British pounds in 2021, the lowest figure recorded in a decade.

What are Britons' favorite holiday destinations abroad? In 2021, Spain reported over three million visits by British vacationers, topping the ranking of the leading holiday travel destinations visited by UK residents. Greece, Portugal, and France followed on the list that year. However, all the major holiday destinations for Britons experienced a sharp decline in visits compared to 2019 due to the health crisis.

An annual survey conducted among British consumers examined the average number of holidays abroad taken per person in the previous 12 months from 2011 to 2022. According to the 2022 study, looking at the trips made between September 2021 and August 2022, UK residents took an average of 1.3 overseas holidays per capita. While this figure denotes an increase from the 2021 survey, focusing on vacations taken during the first year of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it remained below pre-pandemic levels.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic hit outbound tourism from the UK? As the travel restrictions enforced during the health crisis disrupted international tourism, the total number of visits abroad from the UK fell dramatically during the pandemic, reaching a record low of around 19 million in 2021. With the sharp decline in visits came a significant drop in the total UK outbound tourism expenditure, decreasing by nearly 47 billion British pounds in 2021 compared to 2019.

What are the most popular destinations for UK travelers? Despite the significant decline in tourists caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Spain remained the leading outbound travel destination from the UK during the health crisis, recording over four million Britons' visits in 2021. Meanwhile, when focusing on the domestic market, the South West and South East of England were the most popular regions for summer staycations in the UK.

Spain was the holiday destination reporting the highest outbound tourism spending by residents of the United Kingdom in 2023. That year, the expenditure of British vacationers in Spain amounted to roughly 11.46 million British pounds. Spain was also the most visited holiday destination by UK travelers that year, ahead of France, Greece, and Portugal.

An October 2022 study analyzed the share of adults from the United Kingdom who took overseas holidays in the past 12 months. Over the period considered, surveyed Britons aged 25 to 34 years vacationed abroad the most, with 62 percent of respondents from this age group taking an overseas vacation. By contrast, 27 percent of respondents aged 55 to 64 traveled overseas for holiday purposes.

The number of holiday visits abroad from the United Kingdom grew in 2023 over the previous year, after shrinking due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite this increase, outbound visits for vacation purposes remained below pre-pandemic levels, totaling around 55.53 million in 2023. That year, Spain, France, and Greece were the most visited holiday destinations by UK travelers, respectively.

According to a May 2023 survey focusing on the travel intentions of Britons, Spain was the preferred European destination for a trip in the next six months, chosen by 16 percent of the sample. France and Italy followed on the ranking, mentioned by nine percent and eight percent of respondents, respectively.

How many Britons travel every year?
In 2022, the number of visits abroad from the UK reached nearly 71 million, rising by over 50 million from the previous year. Despite the annual increase, total outbound visits from the United Kingdom remained below the figures recorded prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Overall, holidays accounted for most outbound trips from the UK in 2022, while trips abroad to visit family and friends represented the second-highest figure.

How much do Britons spend on holidays abroad?
In 2022, Britons spent on holidays abroad approximately 40 billion British pounds. While this figure shows a rebound from the impact of the health crisis, the outbound expenditure did not catch up yet with pre-pandemic levels. In 2022, Spain was the leading outbound holiday destination from the UK, with British vacationers spending roughly 10 million British pounds in the country that year.

As of January 8, 2025, the share of Britons who took no holiday days in the last month increased compared to the previous year. According to the January 2025 survey, 42 percent of respondents aged between 18 and 24 stated that they had not made vacation trips, denoting an increase of eight percentage points from November 2022. Meanwhile, 29 percent of respondents aged 25 to 49 reported not taking a holiday in the past month.

As of January 8, 2025, the share of male Britons who took no holiday days in the previous month increased compared to the previous year. According to a January 2025 survey, 30 percent of males reported not taking vacation trips in the past month, which was an increase of six percentage points from the previous year. Meanwhile, the share of female Britons in January 2025 who had not had any vacations in the previous month only increased by one percentage point over January 2024, totaling 35 percent.

In September 2023, visits abroad from the United Kingdom totaled roughly 9.4 million, which was an increase on September in the previous year and was only marginally less than pre-pandemic levels for the same month. Over the period considered, monthly outbound visits from the UK peaked at around 11.6 million in August 2019. Tourism in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic turned the global tourism industry upside down, with countries worldwide enacting lockdowns and travel bans to limit the spread of the virus. As a result of the emergency measures, the total number of outbound tourist visits from the United Kingdom declined by 74 percent in 2020 over the previous year, then dropped even further in 2021, reaching the lowest figure in a decade. 2022 saw a partial recovery, however, levels still remained below what was recorded before the pandemic. Meanwhile, the impact of the health crisis on inbound tourist visits in the UK was even harder, with the country recording just 6.4 million visits from abroad in 2021. Contribution of travel and tourism to the economy in the UK In 2022, the total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in the UK amounted to roughly 237.1 billion British pounds, which was around 5 percent lower than before the pandemic. That year, the travel and tourism industries supported around 3.6 million jobs in the country. Even in this case, however, travel and tourism's total contribution to employment in the UK did not catch up with the figure reported in 2019.

This statistic shows the share of UK consumers not going on holiday between 2011 and 2019. The share of Britons who did not go on vacation increased from 10 percent in 2011 to 23 percent in 2015. It significantly declined again 2016 when it dropped to 14 percent. It has since been relatively steady, with 12 percent of Britons not going on holiday in 2019.

An annual survey conducted among British consumers examined the average number of holidays taken per person in the previous 12 months from 2011 to 2022. According to the 2022 study, focusing on the vacations made between September 2021 and August 2022, Britons took an average of 3.6 holidays per capita, showing a significant growth over the previous year. The increase was mainly driven by a rebound in the average number of holidays abroad from the UK, following a sharp decline reported in the 2021 survey due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Although the share of Britons taking holidays in the past 12 months bounced back in 2022, it did not surpass pre-pandemic levels.

An annual study conducted among Britons looked at the share of consumers taking a holiday to a beach destination in the previous 12 months. According to the 2022 survey, focusing on the trips made between September 2021 and August 2022, 34 percent of respondents said to have taken a beach vacation. This figure declined by seven percentage points compared to the 2019 survey. Despite the drop, beach holidays were the most popular type of vacation in the UK as of 2022.

Spending on visits abroad by residents of the United Kingdom grew in 2023 over the previous year, after shrinking due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In 2023, holidays accounted for the highest outbound expenditure, with spending on vacations abroad amounting to nearly 50 billion British pounds. This represented not only an increase over the previous two years, but also from before the pandemic, with holiday spending having stood at 43.36 billion British pounds in 2019.

In September 2023, residents of the United Kingdom took approximately 7.5 million trips to other countries within Europe. Visitor numbers were higher compared to the same period in 2022, when there were roughly seven million travelers from the UK visiting Europe.

An October 2022 survey examined the share of Britons who took domestic vacations over the previous 12 months. According to the study, 74 percent of respondents aged 25 to 34 made at least one holiday in the UK over the period considered. Meanwhile, 42 percent of surveyed people from the same age group took two or more domestic vacations.