Where UK residents travelled abroad in 2024, from official statistics. Top destinations: July to September (summer): Spain, France and Greece; January to March (winter): Spain, France and United States. Figures are visits as the statistics office counts them, so they are not comparable with other countries' pages.
Where UK residents went in July to September 2024 (summer)
The ten countries UK residents visited most in July to September 2024, with each country's share of its whole year that fell in those months.1
| Rank | Destination | Visits | Share of that destination's year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 6,121,000 | 33.7% |
| 2 | France | 3,069,000 | 33.9% |
| 3 | Greece | 2,111,000 | 51.7% |
| 4 | Turkey | 1,838,000 | 43.1% |
| 5 | Italy | 1,705,000 | 34.5% |
| 6 | Portugal | 1,202,000 | 33.4% |
| 7 | United States | 1,095,000 | 27.5% |
| 8 | Republic of Ireland | 1,040,000 | 30.4% |
| 9 | Germany | 997,000 | 32.6% |
| 10 | Poland | 921,000 | 29.4% |
Countries whose busiest quarter for UK residents falls in July to September: Spain, France, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Germany, Poland, Cyprus, Romania.1
Where UK residents went in January to March 2024 (winter)
The ten countries UK residents visited most in January to March 2024, with each country's share of its whole year that fell in those months.1
| Rank | Destination | Visits | Share of that destination's year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 2,904,000 | 16.0% |
| 2 | France | 1,785,000 | 19.7% |
| 3 | United States | 788,000 | 19.8% |
| 4 | Italy | 781,000 | 15.8% |
| 5 | Republic of Ireland | 723,000 | 21.1% |
| 6 | Poland | 653,000 | 20.9% |
| 7 | India | 604,000 | 29.4% |
| 8 | Germany | 570,000 | 18.7% |
| 9 | Netherlands | 525,000 | 19.8% |
| 10 | Portugal | 467,000 | 13.0% |
Countries whose busiest quarter for UK residents falls in January to March: Switzerland, Austria, Australia, Thailand, Barbados, Nigeria, Slovakia, Brazil, New Zealand, Sri Lanka.1
What these figures are
Visits abroad by residents of Great Britain (Northern Ireland is not covered), by main country visited; each figure is an ONS estimate rounded to the nearest 1,000. ONS publishes these as official statistics in development. Busy months for a destination reflect when UK residents travel, not the weather there or prices. Quarters are the nearest the source offers to summer and winter: July to September stands in for summer and January to March for winter. Each statistics office counts trips differently, so do not compare these numbers with another country's page.
For other countries' travellers, see summer and winter getaways; for the weather at the destinations, weather and climate.
Key takeaways
- July to September (summer): Spain first, with 6,121,000 visits.
- January to March (winter): Spain first, with 2,904,000 visits.
- What we would skip: comparing these numbers with another country's; each office counts differently.
Sources
Figures from the official statistics named below; rankings and shares are ours. See how we research.
- Data: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Estimates of visits, spending and nights abroad, 2024 (Updated Quarter 1 to Quarter 4 2024 edition), Table 7: Number of visits abroad by main country visited. Read it. Accessed 6 October 2026. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence. We ranked the destinations and worked out the shares.
Modified data: we ranked the destinations by season and worked out each destination's seasonal share, rounding once to one decimal place.