The number of British people taking holidays in Spain each year far exceeds the population of Greater London. Almost as many go to Benidorm as to Italy. More of us fly to the US than to Greece. Massachusetts alone is more popular than the whole of South America.
A close look at British travelling habits reveals some surprising facts. It can also shatter myths. Conventional wisdom, for example, holds that independent travel is gaining significantly at the expense of the package deal. But if the nation is becoming more adventurous, it is happening very slowly. Despite the rise of low-cost airlines and the advent of internet booking, the proportion of holidaymakers doing it themselves last year was a mere 2% higher than it was three decades earlier. That said, the proportion taking long-haul holidays - excluding those going to North America - has roughly doubled over the same period.
The arithmetic is fraught with complication, the truth sometimes obscured by wishful thinking and hyperbole from the tourist industry. The only comprehensive research comes from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), but that measures the number of visits, rather than the number of people travelling. Though it shows that we took a total of 36.6 million holiday breaks abroad in 2000 - just less than two-thirds of them by air - the figure is inflated by people who get away more than once a year and by an indeterminate number of leisure day trips. Subtract them from the total and the number of individuals taking foreign holidays is probably closer to 25m.
That compares with a total of 75.3m* holidays trips of one night or more taken by the British in the UK - or 26.5m breaks of four nights or more in England alone.
Spain
By a street, this remains the most popular destination. It attracts around 28% of visits lasting four nights or more, while the French get 10%. The Canaries alone attract 3.7m visits, with Tenerife accounting for 1.7m, Gran Canaria 823,000, Lanzarote 787,000 and Fuertaventura 387,000. In the Balearics, Majorca gets 2.1m, Ibiza 706,000 and Menorca 654,000.
But Spain's lead over France is much narrower in the battle to lure families. A recent analysis showed 32% of under-16s spent their holidays there compared with the 29% accompanying their parents on predominantly self-catering and camping trips in France.
France
When it comes to France, the true total is difficult to estimate.
The ONS research shows that nearly 7m visits were made there. Take out all the Christmas shopping trips and gastronomic weekends across the Channel and that figure can be safely halved. But add those who drive across France to other countries, such as Switzerland, Italy and Spain, and the number must be increased again, perhaps to 4m.
Paris is clearly the biggest draw. At a very rough estimate, it attracts around 1m British leisure travellers in total. Next comes Normandy with about 700,000, Brittany with roughly 630,000, Aquitaine with some 660,000 and Provence, the Côte d'Azur and the Western Loire, each of which gets around 600,000.
US and Greece
These two vie for third place in the popularity stakes, though the figures suggest that the former, with around 2.75m, is marginally ahead. America's lead is much wider when it comes to families, however. It attracts 7% of under 16s against a Greek share of only 4% - thanks mainly to the lure of theme parks such as Florida's Disney World and Universal Studios.
Pinpointing exactly where the British go in the US is tricky, because the more detailed destination statistics include business travellers. In total, 1.6m headed for Florida last year, 1.19m to New York, 767,000 to California and 296,000 to Massachusetts. Business travel accounts for about one third of all trips to the country, though the percentage is certain to be significantly lower to Florida, which clearly attracts well over 1m holidaymakers a year. Orlando alone recorded 1.3m visits.
Greece gets about 2.5m holidaymakers, overwhelmingly on charter flights. Of these, 468,000 went to Corfu last year, 433,000 to Crete, 371,000 to Rhodes, 324,000 to Zakynthos, 217,000 to Kos, 115,000 to Halkidiki, 113,000 to Cephalonia (setting for Captain Corelli's Mandolin), 65,000 to Skiathos and 56,000 to Preveza, which serves Levkas.
Some 80,000 charter passengers also flew to Athens, though many of them headed for the north west Peloponnese. Lesbos attracted 28,000 and Samos 22,000. Santorini and Mykonos received 14,000 and 8,000 respectively, but the Greek Tourist Office estimates those figures may have doubled when this year's are added up. For those anxious to get away from their fellow Brits, Limnos, with only 4,800 sounds a good bet.
Portugal and Italy
Portugal lagged some way behind with 1.46m, just ahead of Italy, whose 1.33m clearly includes a large proportion attracted by culture rather than beaches.
Other European
Cyprus drew 1.14m and Turkey around 665,000. Around 390,000 went to Malta. Some 617,000 went to Holland, although that figure was heavily weighted by the enduring popularity of Amsterdam as a city break destination.
Eastern Europe
The area still attracts relatively small numbers. The Czech Republic drew around 300,000, primarily on city breaks to Prague, about 200,000 went to Hungary, 187,000 to Poland, and just over 31,000 to the former Yugoslav republic of Slovenia. Around 31,000* visited the former Soviet Union.
Latin America
Figures for this region are sadly lacking. Overall, some 275,000 went in 1999. Peru is probably the league leader attracting 75,000 at a very rough estimate, followed by Brazil with around 70,000. Mexico gets around 25,000, with Cancún the most popular destination, followed by Puerto Vallarta and Mexico City. Guatemala gets 10,000.
Islands
About 639,000 of us go to the Caribbean, with Barbados, easily the most popular island, attracting 225,500 last year. After that comes Jamaica, with 135,338 - though its appeal may suffer following the recent gun battles in Kingston - the Dominican Republic, with around 85,000, followed by Cuba with 91,000, and St Lucia and Antigua, both with about 73,000. Nearly 51,000 went to Trinidad and Tobago, 26,234 to Grenada, 23,422 to the Cayman Islands, 13,163 to St Kitts and Nevis and 3,577 to the Turks and Caicos. If you really want to stay exclusive, try St Vincent and the Grenadines (1,901), Anguilla (2,073), Curacao (2,053), Aruba (2,773) or, best of all, Dominica, which attracted a mere 633*.
In the Atlantic, Bermuda gets 28,606. In the Indian Ocean, Mauritius gets 74,000 and Seychelles 15,700. The Maldives claims 35,000.
Asia
Thailand outstripped anywhere else in Asia last year with 476,387. Malaysia received 237,757. No reliable figure is available for China. Sri Lanka drew 84,692 and 354,217 went to India, about 70% of them heading for the beaches of Goa.
According to the Hong Kong Tourist Association, 367,938 Britons visited the former colony last year - but this conceals another statistical complication. The most recent ONS figure (for 1999) made it only 152,000, about one-third of them on holiday. That is because its research records only the traveller's main destination. Many people spend a few days in Hong Kong en route to Australia and New Zealand, for example.
Australasia
In 1999 the number of Britons who said they visited Australia primarily as a holiday (211,000) marginally exceeded those visiting friends or relatives (198,000). The same applies to New Zealand, where the respective figures were 55,000 and 49,000, though the country's tourist board says 107,000 holidaymakers went there in the year to last May.
Sydney remains the first port of call for the majority, but as the country attracts more repeat visitors, other gateways, such as Cairns and Perth, are increasing in popularity. Just over 24,000 went to Tasmania.
Africa and the Middle East
Egypt, having recovered from the depressing impact of the Luxor massacre, is the biggest draw in North Africa, attracting 378,355 UK tourists last year. Tunisia attracted 299,376 and Morocco about 150,000.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, Israel attracted around 66,000*, Jordan 37,000.
Kenya attracted 36,525 between September and March, implying perhaps around 70,000 in a full year. Some 136,000* went to South Africa and around 180,000* to the rest of the sub-Saharan Africa.
Cruises and winter sports
Among the most readily available statistics is those for Britons taking ocean or river cruises. In 2000, it was 872,235.
However, nothing illustrates the hazards of calculating how many people go where than the wintersports business. The only available figures record the 400,000 or so skiers and snowboarders who book through travel agents. Of these, France gets just over 30%, or 120,000. Austria gets just over 20%, Italy 12.6%, Andorra nearly 12%, Canada just under 8%, Switzerland 5.7%, the US 4.2%, Bulgaria 2.8%, Spain 0.3% and Rumania 0.1%.
But many skiers travel independently or bypass the High Street, booking direct with operators. The best estimate is that about 750,000 Britons head for the slopes each winter. Most of those driving to the Alps head for French resorts, as do a large proportion of those booking direct - so logic suggests that France's market share is significantly greater than one-third of the total market. It could easily represent another 250,000 customers but that - as so often with travel statistics - is no more than an educated guess.
*1999 figure
Where we go abroad
Spain: 10.2m
France: 4m
US: 2.75m
Greece: 2.5m
Portugal: 1.46m
Italy: 1.33m
Ireland: 1.14m
Cyprus: 1.14m
Turkey: 665,000
Germany: 624,000
Holland: 617,000
Belgium: 600,000**
Thailand 476,387
Malta: 390,000
Canada: 379,000
Egypt: 378,355
India: 354,217
Austria: 350,000
Switzerland: 340,000
Czech Republic: 300,000
Tunisia: 299,376
Malaysia: 237,757
Barbados: 225,500
Australia: 211,000
Hungary: 200,000
Jamaica: 135,338
New Zealand: 104,000
Poland: 187,000
Morocco: 150,000
South Africa: 136,000
**Rough estimate based on 1999 ONS figure minus day trippers.
Where we go in the UK
England: 61.2m (of which the south-west , with 13.4m was the top region)
Wales: 7m
Scotland: 6.1m
Northern Ireland: 700,000
Holidays of one night or more in the UK (1999)
