Beach holidays on the rise – Expedia
The number of people planning to take a beach holiday has risen this year, according to a new survey by Expedia.
The online travel agent’s annual Flip Flop Resort found that 52% of people across the world are planning to take a beach break in 2012 – up from 45% in 2011. While the average beach holiday is approximately one week in length (7.7 days), Korean, Japanese and Singaporean beachgoers were found to take shorter seaside holidays – likely to be weekend breaks. Argentineans are the most sun-soaked nationality, spending an average of 11 days on the beach, while Koreans spent a just 3.2 days per trip.
Relaxing and sunbathing were the top two activities for beachgoers. The Irish, at 75%, were the most likely to relax, while Mexicans (79%) were found to be the biggest sunbathers. Brazilians (40%) were the most likely to exercise on the beach, but Japanese prefer to take it easy, with just 2% saying they like to work out. New Zealanders (36%) and Australians (35%) were most likely to go fishing, while Germans spend most time swimming.
Singaporeans like to get pampered while on the beach, with 31% saying they spent time in beach spas, compared to just 3% of Japanese. This may be due to a fear of swimming; 67% of Singaporeans said they were aware of the danger of sharks – second only to Brazil (70%).
The 2012 Flip Flop Report surveyed 8,599 adults in 21 countries.