The UK destinations that can replace favourite foreign holiday spots - Bath dubbed the Paris of the UK

February 22, 2021

One of the UK’s leading last-minute holiday booking sites has revealed the UK’s equivalent destinations to the British public’s favourite foreign holiday spots. Using national statistics, internal and Google trends data, the site collated the most popular foreign destinations and consulted its travel experts to discover the UK’s equivalent locations. With Bristol selected as the best city break alternative to Amsterdam, the beaches of Pembrokeshire identified as a comparative location to Spain and the Forest of Dean the perfect equivalent to Ardeche.

One of the UK’s leading last-minute holiday booking sites has revealed the UK-equivalent destinations to the British public’s favourite foreign holiday hotspots, so they can recreate their cancelled vacations in their home country.

Last-minute holiday booking platforms, Last Minute Cottages and LateRooms.com interrogated national statistics, internal and Google trend data to discover the British public’s favourite foreign destinations to travel to, and consulted with its holiday experts to reveal UK equivalents to these locations.

Spain was revealed as the most popular foreign holiday destination for Brits, Amsterdam, the site’s most booked city break and Australia the most researched long-haul holiday in the past 12 months.

Its travel experts identified the beaches of Pembrokeshire as the UK version of Spain, Bristol as the British equivalent of Amsterdam, and the Scottish Highlands as Australia’s best comparative.

Britain’s favourite foreign holidays and their homegrown equivalents are:

  1. Amsterdam = Bristol
    LateRooms.com’s experts identified Bristol as the UK equivalent to a weekend in theDutch capital due to its thriving bar scene, waterways and cycle-friendly infrastructure.
  2. Paris = Bath
    The Georgian architecture, Roman Baths and countryside setting are why Bath has been chosen as the best place to enjoy a Romantic city break without leaving the UK.
  3. Barcelona = Liverpool
    Liverpool was chosen as the UK’s answer to a weekend in Barcelona due to its iconic waterfront, strong sporting pedigree, and popularity with film and television producers.
  4. Spain = Pembrokeshire
    With over 100 beaches including 2017’s ‘best in the world’, Pembrokeshire has been selected as the UK equivalent to Spain’s pristine sandy beaches.
  5. South of France = The Forest of Dean & Wye Valley
    Brits who had summer plans to adventure in Ardeche, can still enjoy canoeing, mountain biking and hiking this autumn in the region bordering England and South Wales.

The full list of recommended switches has been broken down into most popular European holidays, city breaks and bucket-list long haul trips. For example, those who lost out on a relaxing island break in Greece in 2020 can enjoy the sandy beaches and rich history of the Isle of Wight, or for those who planned to tick the Australian Outback off of their bucket list, the wildness of the Scottish Highlands offers a cooler and less venomous alternative.

Matthew Fox, CEO of Last Minute Cottages & LateRooms.com, said,

“There’s no denying it, this last 12 months has been tough for travel, both home and away, and while 2020 may have stalled plans for a large portion of foreign holidays, it does not mean that you can’t still enjoy an adventurous escape or a romantic getaway right here in the UK in 2021.

“If one positive can be taken from all of the uncertainty and disruption that the travel industry has endured this year, it is that it will have allowed for British tourists to look upon their home nation with fresh eyes and discover that our island has so much to offer every kind of tourist.”

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