With snow becoming a permanent fixture in the British winter, Britons are flocking to sunnier climes to escape the seasonal chill.

It seems that the threat of snow is enough to make people dig a little deeper and escape to typically long-haul summer locations.

Winter sun holidays are up year on year and industry experts are returning huge results for the period leading into the New Year. With Barbados holidays up 100 per cent year-on-year, lowcostholidays.com has seen its holiday makers head to more tropical climates such as Jamaica which us up 66 per cent year-on-year, with its average December temperatures of 26 °C.

More typically associated with summer family trips, holidays in Florida are now a go-to for winter retreats.

Known as the sunshine state, Florida offers everything from Theme Parks and the idyllic Florida Keys to The Everglades and glamorous Miami Beach.

Finding Florida sharing the top spot as the largest growth location for Winter Sun is certainly a welcome surprise.

However, in an increasingly price-sensitive market where value for money is coupled with the sense of ‘getting away from it all’, perhaps this is a sign of things to come.

Matt Hall, head of product at lowcostholidays.com has commented that: “The interest in winter sun destinations is indicative of trends showing that consumers are saving more for the things they really want.

“In turn, airlines and resorts are increasingly under pressure to secure packages that can provide the truly exotic with the benefit of highly competitive prices”.

With recent economic fears across the Travel Industry, this trend is a welcome surprise to consumers and providers alike – who doesn’t like a bargain deal combined with a truly far-flung travel experience?

Getting to these locations has never been more affordable with December prices starting as low as £490 per person for a week in Florida.