The most and least expensive holiday destinations for Brits

Using travel data from the Office of National Statistics, international currency experts moneytransfers.com has been able to predict travel habits over the next decade and beyond, calculating the impact UK holidaymakers will have on travel and tourism within this time frame. Through an analysis of the data, they have been able to reveal the places Brits will be spending the most and least per person this year as well as the next 10 years.

Most expensive 2022 holiday destinations

Based on dividing the total spend by total visits, Australia will have the overall highest average spend from Brits per person, per visit in 2022 with £3,245, followed by Japan (£2,810) and then New Zealand (£2,664).

The data shows that the most expensive places for a holiday are based outside of Europe, with Iceland being the only exception here because of its high cost of living as an island.

For people living in the UK, travelling within Europe is a much faster and therefore cheaper option for holidays.

Most Expensive 2022 Holiday Destinations

Least expensive holiday destinations 

If you’re looking for a cheap getaway, these are the holiday destinations that Brits are expected to spend the least per person this year. The cheapest option is Slovakia with Brits estimated to spend £266.62 per person, followed by Gibraltar (£333.86) and Belgium (£353.56) without flights.

In comparison to the most expensive places for a holiday, the data shows places holidaymakers are to spend the least are all based inside Europe, with the exception of Tunisia.

With the rising cost of living, it is no surprise that UK google searches for ‘cheap summer holidays’ have increased by a whopping 174% in the past year. So if you’re looking for somewhere affordable this year then definitely consider a European holiday destination.

Cheapest holiday destinations 2022

The research also looked at where Brits would be spending the most and least money in the next 10 years and it was interesting to see that in 2032, Brit’s will no longer spend the most per person in Australia, instead, Japan will overtake Australia with an estimated spend of £5,568.34 per person, China -Hong Kong (£3,435.98) as the second most expensive and New Zealand in third (£3,411.69).

The data also revealed that there are slightly more European countries that have moved into the most expensive destinations bracket, with Norway joining Iceland in the top 10 most expensive European countries to visit.

Despite the list of destinations being slightly different, the overall average spend per person, per visit in 2023 is significantly higher than in 2022 and this drastic increase in costs is something for Brits to consider for the future suggesting holidays abroad are only going to get more expensive over the next 10 years.

Jonathan Merry, chief executive of MoneyTransfers.com, said: “With travel mainly being out of the question for the past two years, it is really exciting to see the potential visits Brits will be making over the next 10 years and the amount of revenue Brits could potentially bring to these destinations as we start to see travel make a comeback. Our extensive research is a real positive for the travel industry post-pandemic and predicting these trends has given us a great idea of what the future of travel is going to look like.”