Revealing Stats from Holiday.co.uk

6 March 2002

Once the home of bargain bucket (and spade) deals, online travel sites are now used to book even the most expensive holidays, according to statistics from Holiday.co.uk.

Holiday.co.uk`s figures reveal that in January 2002 the average price holiday searched topped £500 per person (exact average £509). According to the site, its statistics also show consumers are happy to buy the full spectrum of holidays online, from £99 trips to the Costa del Sol right up to £1000 deals to Indian Ocean hideaways.

Proving the point, Holiday.co.uk`s top 20 destinations for January 2002 shows that although usual suspects such as Tenerife and Gran Canaria feature at numbers one and two respectively, a surprising number of exotic locations make their presence felt. Newcomers include Goa at number 14 and Mexico`s Cancun in 18th place. The Caribbean also fared well with Bridgetown in Barbados and Jamaica`s Montego Bay taking the 17th and 19th slots respectively.

Said Holiday.co.uk`s managing director Ed Whiting: “These results confirm consumers` enthusiasm for buying all types of travel online. E-travel isn`t just about bargain deals anymore - it`s used to book everything from luxury Caribbean breaks to exclusive ski holidays. The popularity of places such as Goa and Cancun highlights consumers` willingness to venture further afield online. And when you consider the offers available and the convenience of booking on the web, it`s easy to see why.” Holiday.co.uk offers over 12 million packages from over 40 tour operators, including First Choice, Airtours and Thomson. In addition to holidays to destinations as diverse as Majorca and Mombasa from as little as £99, the site offers flight-only deals for even less. Holiday.co.uk is independent and not linked to any major travel group, and profiles the most comprehensive choice of holidays and flights available online.

The Holiday.co.uk top 20 most searched destinations are:

1. Tenerife

2. Gran Canaria

3. Palma

4. Paphos

5. Faro

6. Lanzarote

7. Alicante

8. Malaga

9. Fuerteventura

10. Larnaca

11. Orlando

12. Malta

13. Ibiza

14. Goa

15. Corfu

16. Monastir

17. Bridgetown

18. Cancun

19. Montego Bay

20. Rhodes