At Time Out Travel, we keep a keen eye on travel trends, be it people’s habits, transport preferences or destination choice – and ABTA’s annual Holiday Habits report covers all three.
According to ABTA (short for Association of British Travel Agents) the number of holidays taken per person has reached its highest point since the research launched in 2011. Clearly, people are making up for lost time after lockdown.
The most prolific travellers are families and those in the under-35 age category, but overall, 84 percent of people went on holiday over the last year, taking an average of almost four holidays each. So where were they going?
The report revealed that Spain was the most popular holiday destination, with 31 percent of people paying the country a visit – no wonder it’s set to become the most visited destination on the planet by 2040 (110 million visitors are projected, meaning it would be a step ahead of France).
In second place, with 22 percent of people visiting it, was (drum roll, please) France! We know, we’re shocked. In third place it was Italy, and the USA and Greece round out the top five. Check out the rest of the list below.
These were the most popular holiday destinations this year
- Spain
- France
- Italy
- USA
- Greece
- Portugal
- Germany
- Turkey
- Netherlands
- UAE
- Mexico
- Austria
- Australia
- Malta
- Croatia
Did you see that Europe’s best affordable city breaks this autumn have been revealed?
Plus: These are the world’s cheapest countries to travel to in 2025.
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