A report by online travel experts, Expedia, suggests that British holidaymakers like to book their trips well in advance and commonly opt for package deals. Those booking a holiday also tend to do so on a Monday evening, with only one in ten waiting for the weekend to come round to book a holiday on a Saturday. The report showed that Sunday was the quietest day of the week for the Expedia website.

Customers using the travel site tended to go for the most luxurious options they could find at the most competitive price. 40 per cent of bookings made are for four-star accommodation.

The Danes and Germans are also conscious of the cost of their holidays, with holidaymakers from both nations spending an average of 20 per cent less on their trips than the Brits. The busiest times for travel are the late August bank holiday period, followed by the four-day holiday period over the Easter weekend.

More than 50 per cent of the 20 most popular destinations for travel are within Europe, according the Expedia report. Nearly a quarter of those destinations were within the UK, with Edinburgh, Manchester and London proving popular. Other top city destinations included Dublin, Amsterdam, Rome and Paris. Las Vegas, Singapore and New York were amongst the most sought after long-haul destinations.

Mikael Anderson, Expedia EMEA vice president, said that more than half of British holiday makers booked their trips well in advance, proving that we are a nation of planners. He added that one in ten even went as far as to book a parking spot in the airport car park.