Written by Staff Writer
Karla Cripps, CNN
There was a time when Britons went to Barcelona to immerse themselves in Catalan culture, take in the stunning views and beach runs at sunny Miami, or engage in watersports at Jamaica’s Montego Bay resort.
Now? We’re heading elsewhere.
Travellers from Britain are spending more and more time abroad, figures released by the Office for National Statistics this week show, with the number of British nationals going abroad increasing in 2017 by three million to 58.3 million, a 7.7% increase on the previous year.
Why? Increasing population, bad weather — or just a reflection of more travelers interested in destinations outside the country?
“This is largely due to economic factors. We have all those variables to contend with: tough UK weather, the impact of terror attacks in European and American cities and the general economic climate, and that all combined together causes people to want to go to places that aren’t the ‘norm,'” said Mike Harrison, chief executive of the UK-based company Boliden Holidays .
His company recently released a report highlighting the area of British holiday resorts in which you’re most likely to visit. Hilton Head, which is mostly on the southeast coast of South Carolina, has the second-highest proportion of Brits — the percentage of Brits in this group is close to 13%. Hampshire is ranked third and Falmouth third.