Britain stays at home

In the age of cheap holidays to exotic locations and budget air travel it seems there is still no place like home for millions of Britons.

Nearly one in eight of us has never been abroad, while many have not even visited another country within the British Isles, acccording to a survey.

Women are less likely than men to have travelled outside the UK's borders, said the study.

Figures that will be a welcome boost to the home tourist industry show that 14 per cent of females and 11 per cent of males have never been abroad, while 25 per cent have never been outside Europe.

The biggest stay-at-homes are in the West Midlands where an astonishing 20 per cent of residents admitted they had never taken a foreign holiday.

And in the North-East one in seven said they had never been outside their own county for a holiday, believing they can get all they want nearby.

Overall, the study found that 12 per cent of Britons have never holidayed abroad, 7 per cent have not had a vacation in another country within the British Isles and 6 per cent have never been on holiday outside their own county. The most widely-travelled Britons are Londoners. Nearly 90 per cent of them have not only been abroad but have also travelled beyond Europe.

But even among those in the capital, 10 per cent have not been to another country in the British Isles.

The survey, for credit card company Morgan Stanley's travel review, predicted that some 15million people will take time off between now and Christmas.

A high proportion will stay at home, it says, with the South-West the most popular destination.

In 2002, Britons took 101million breaks at home, a market worth £17.4billion to the tourist industry.

But while it had been popularly assumed that post-September 11 fears, SARs outbreaks or money worries had had a big effect, the survey showed that many have always holidayed at home.

A Morgan Stanley spokesman said: 'These findings represent welcome news for the UK tourism industry.

'The emergence of new state-ofthe-art attractions coupled with fine weather has no doubt contributed to the resurgence of the UK as a top location for a break.'