Passport to real respect

Being well-travelled is a better status symbol than owning a big house, nice clothes and a good car, according to a study.

More than nine in 10 people believe that having a passport full of exotic stamps is the best way to impress others - and more than four in 10 people exaggerate their travels because they think it impresses people.

Meanwhile, one in seven people spends £2,000 or more a year on foreign holidays and one in five goes abroad more than four times a year.

Dermot Halpin, managing director of Expedia.co.uk, which carried out the survey, said: "The British have always been regarded as keen travellers but we didn't expect to find so many people who had travelled so much.

"If you want to keep up with the Joneses you now literally have to follow them to the ends of the earth."