The cold weather seems to be inspiring a lot of Britons to take to beach holidays, according to an online travel agency. A study by sunshine.co.uk has unearthed beach breaks as the most popular type of holiday that will be embarked on in 2015, based on a poll of 1,578 people in the country.

The study aimed to find the top trends for 2015, based on exactly what type of holidays UK residents had booked, or were thinking about booking, over the next few months. All of the participants were over 18-years of age.

The poll presented correspondents with a list of possible answers, with beach holidays being the resounding winner after 37% said that this is their preferred type of getaway. However, not far away was sightseeing, with 33% saying that they would like, or are going, on a holiday of this type at some point during 2015. 29% answered with an adventure-related holiday, with the top ten results appearing like the following:

1. Beach – 37%
2. Sightseeing – 33%
3. Adventure – 29%
4. City break – 21%
5. Ski – 17%
6. Voluntourism – 13%
7. Cruise – 11%
8. Walking/Hiking holiday – 8%
9. Wildlife-focused – 5%
10. Food/Cuisine break – 2%

The results also suggested that some of the more traditional forms of holiday, such as hiking breaks, are no longer popular. Additionally, camping did not break into the top ten - which again indicates that some of the more exotic and modern alternatives have well and truly taken over.
The fact that over half of correspondents said that they were planning on embarking on either a sightseeing holiday, or a city break, suggests that short-term getaways could be in fashion at the moment. This could also be one of the reasons why cruises and wildlife-focussed getaways are not as popular, with both of these generally requiring a lot longer period of time away.

Perhaps one of the most surprising aspects about the survey came following a question about the destinations and attractions that correspondents wanted to visit across their whole lifetime. Here it was found that beaches made up the top three results; with Bondi Beach accumulating 52% of votes, while Copacabana Beach and Pamelonne Beach received 37% and 29% respectively. This came despite the fact that correspondents had a wealth of answers to choose from – not necessarily related to beaches.

Another segment of the survey aimed to find out just how many Britons were planning to go on holiday at all this summer. Here it was found that 78% had either booked, or were about to book, some form of holiday for 2015. In other words, a large proportion of the country is planning a getaway for the forthcoming year, suggesting that the nation has recovered from its situation several years ago where a lot of people simply couldn’t afford to jet away on exotic breaks. The financial aspect of holidaying may again be linked to the sightseeing and city break results, which are traditionally shorter and therefore less expensive.

Speaking about the results, Managing Director of sunshine.co.uk Chris Clarkson commented:
“Beach holidays have always been the firm favourite amongst Britons and still are, but clearly some people are also feeling a little on the adventurous side with the arrival of the New Year. It’s possible to combine many different types of holiday in one trip, with some beach locations being a stone’s throw away from many sights, adventure excursions and cities.”

“Wherever Britons end up this year on their holidays, it’s certainly something to look forward to during this cold and dreary January!”