Brits are booking more holidays than ever

British tourists are booking weekend breaks and short trips in addition to, rather than at the expense of, longer package holidays, according to a report from travel agent Thomas Cook.

Research also found there is a large domestic market for tourism, with more than half (55%) of UK adults staying in this country for short breaks or holidays.

The figures, for the year up to September 2005, show a large increase in the overall number of holidays taken by Brits, both at home abroad. Britons took 66.3 million holidays in this period, up from 59.2million in 2002. Thomas Cook attributed this to an increase in leisure travel rather than business.

The way that consumers buy their trips is also changing, with television shopping channels and the internet growing in popularity.

Booking over the web has grown 4% in three years and now accounts for 15% of all holiday purchases. Spain remains the favourite package holiday, with four million holidays taken there, 21% of the total.

Turkey, Bulgaria and Egypt are also growing in popularity, thanks to the exchange rates with their non-euro currencies - which mean drinks, meals and sightseeing are affordable for British holiday-makers.

By Alix Young

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