AS summer 2017 draws to a close, recent figures have revealed that Spain remains the top destination for British holidaymakers.
Official figures from Gfk Leisure Travel Monitor show that as of June 2017, Spain was up by 270,000 passengers.
Figures show that Spain enjoys a sizeable lead over the second most popular destination, Greece, with almost double the number of visitors.
The statistics also suggest that Europe’s issues with terrorism and the refugee crisis are nominally impacting tourist figures and a desire for British holidaymakers to visit the continent. France, however, is down on last year suggesting a lingering fear of terrorism after a series of high-level incidents in the past 12-months.
By contrast, the data shows that countries in the Middle East, including Egypt, have seen a significant decline in tourist numbers from the UK. Turkey has also suffered a sharp drop of 70,000 on last year, reflecting continued uncertainty over its political stability.
Not, perhaps, surprisingly, the figures also showed that tourist numbers to the United States are dwindling under the ‘Trump effect’ and the continued perception of America as an unsafe destination.
Other growing destinations include the Caribbean, Croatia, Cyprus and Portugal, with marginal growth to the Cape Verde Islands, Portugal, Mexico and Italy.
