The World's Holiday Destinations

As the World Travel & Tourism Council predicts robust growth for the global travel industry during 2004, the latest figures from TGI reveal that while the majority of consumers love the idea of foreign travel, the top holiday hotspots are generally those which are closest to home.

Of the 15 countries analysed, the Latin American nations have the highest proportion of would-be globe trotters with 72% of Brazilians and 69% of Mexicans saying they love the idea of travelling abroad. Despite this, a relatively small number of people in these countries fulfil their aspirations to travel with less than 5% of people in both markets actually going abroad on holiday in the last year. Over half of those in both markets that did venture abroad chose to visit the US, making it their number one foreign destination.

The figures reveal that foreign travel also has a strong appeal for people living in Middle Eastern countries. In Israel just 4 out of 10 people say that they prefer holidays at home rather than abroad and 16% of people who took a holiday in the last year travelled as far as Canada or the US. In Saudi Arabia, where over half (55%) of people say they love the idea of travelling abroad, a quarter also say that they specially choose to read articles on holiday and travel in newspapers and magazines. Kuwait is the favourite location for Saudi holidaymakers, attracting over half a million of them in the last year.

Results from Western Europe show that opinions on travelling abroad vary; 66% of British people are keen on the idea of foreign travel compared with just 41% of people living in Spain. However, the British and Spanish do have something in common when it comes to holiday travel; neighbouring France is the top foreign destination for both, with 12% of British and 4% of Spanish holidaymakers going there on their last trip. The research suggests that German tourists are a little more adventurous, Turkey being the most popular country to visit. Of all those who took a holiday in the last year, 8% (around 2.2 million people) went to Turkey.

Aspirations to travel do not always convert into action. In Hungary for example, 48% love the idea of travelling abroad but among those, who agree with this statement, only 21% actually went abroad in the last 12 months (6% of the total population). Among those that did travel abroad last year, 71% were social grade ABC1. For the majority of the remaining population travel remains largely aspirational.

Least keen on foreign travel are people living in the US and South Africa. According to the surveys, just a third of people in both markets say that they love the idea of travelling abroad. 47% of Americans say that they prefer travelling in the US as opposed to travelling to foreign countries, although age is a key determinant when it comes to people's attitudes. The figure increases to 56% for people aged 55+ but drops to 32% for people aged 18-24. Figures from South Africa show that people tend to holiday at home rather than go abroad. 83% of people stayed in South Africa for their last holiday, while neighbouring Botswana was the top foreign destination among those who went abroad.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.