New figures from the statistical office of the European Union, Eurostat, show that Britain remains the key destination for Irish holiday-makers, with more than one trip in three from Ireland going to the UK. Our love for the sun is just as strong, however, with a further third of Irish trips abroad ending up Spain and Portugal.
Indeed, we're not alone in our collective quest for a tan: Spain, Italy & France are the top three most popular destinations for the 27 nations of the EU: Of the 1.04 billion European non-business trips taken last year, 13% of them ended up in Spain, while France and Italy took 9% each. Interestingly, showing either strong measures of French patriotism or Gallic disdain, just 11% of French people go abroad for their holidays. Traditional language lines come through in the research, with Danes more likely to visit Sweden and Germany than Spain, while more Germans go to Austria than to Spain or Italy. Somewhat troublingly, Ireland did not rank as a favoured destination for any of the European countries.
