Soaring fuel costs will not deter UK travellers this summer according to a survey by TripAdvisor.

The firm has just completed its largest ever online summer travel survey involving 2,300 travellers worldwide.

Nothing is going to get in the way of the Brits going on holiday. Eighty percent said that the rising costs of fuel will not affect their travel plans compared with 70 percent of all nationalities. Only 12 percent of British travellers thought rising fuel costs would affect their plans. Americans however are much more concerned with fuel prices than travellers from other countries, with 27 percent reporting they will take fewer trips due to fuel costs.

It seems that more than a quarter of travellers (28 percent) from around the world intend to take more holiday time this summer than last, and nearly a third (29 percent) intend to spend more money on summer holidays in 2006 than they did in 2005. And, the long cold winter appears to have had a big impact on the British travellers surveyed, 95 percent of whom are planning to flee their mother country this summer compared with 63 percent for all nationalities.

Basting in the sun and not much else

Despite health warnings the British continue to be great sun lovers with 65 percent planning sunbathing as a principal summer holiday activity. Meanwhile we seem to lag behind the rest of the world when it comes to expending energy on holiday. Only 17 percent of us plan to take a hike this summer compared with 30 percent of all nationalities and only 13 percent of us will be getting on our bikes compared with 22 percent from all countries. Watching sport however is a different matter, with 21 percent of the Brits planning to go to a cricket or soccer match this summer compared with only 10 percent from abroad.

Baring all

The reserved British seem to like to get their kit off along with the rest of the world and nearly five percent are planning to go to a nudist beach this summer. Men are twice as likely as women to bare all. Five percent also plan to visit “adults-only” resorts. It appears that spas are more of a wintertime activity as 27 percent of travellers intend to visit a spa this summer compared to 55 percent from an autumn TripAdvisor survey.

When and where

September appears to be the favourite month for British to go on holiday with 46 percent planning to take their holiday then. July (46 percent) and August (44 percent) were the most popular months for the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, more than half of British travellers (55 percent) have planned a beach holiday this summer and eighteen percent are planning to stay in a private villa. Only seven per cent of us are planning to stay in a theme park whereas almost double the number of total respondents said that they were spending their holidays with Mr Mouse and Co.
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