Spain beats US as top holiday haunt

Spain is continuing to attract a large number of holidaymakers from the UK, it has been revealed.

Brits’ love affair with Spain finally have peaked: Spain has overtaken US as the most popular destination for UK residents traveling abroad. Spain's surge in popularity with British holidaymakers coincides with the string of new low-cost airline routes to Spain.

Les Calvert, director of Property-Abroad.com has said that Flights to Spain are ahead of flights to the US in terms of attracting retirees. The US cannot compete with the European destination in terms of UK tourism, Spain is said to be the favored choice of among Britons. According to Price Runner, cities in Spain account for 40 per cent of this year's top 20 holiday destinations. The Spanish Costas are identified as one of the main hotspots for Britons, in particular Malaga and Alicante.

Les Calvert further added that US is still a long way from the favourites like Spain - it is in the top five while America's in the top ten. According to the Association of British Travel Agents, despite the pound losing nearly 20 per cent of its value against the single European currency in the last year, Spain has held its appeal, as it is the most popular destination "by far". Speaking to the Herald, a spokesperson of the organization commented that Spain still offers extremely good value and there is a very strong dependability factor to the country.

Indeed, figures from Mondial Assistance suggest that one in three holidaymakers from the UK will fly to Spain this year.