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Destinations in the Mediterranean region and Canary Islands remain the most searched for holiday destination among Brits, according to new research.

The survey was assembled from one and a half million online searches completed on the directline-holidays website, from a quarter of a million UK residents.

The biggest surprise was the popularity of the expensive and exclusive Maldives. More popular than the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol, the Maldives image of idyllic tropical islands makes it the destination that we most aspire to visit but only a small proportion of holidaymakers actually go to.

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Unexpected results include the popularity of less traditionally popular long haul destinations. Goa was more requested that Crete and Gambia more than Barbados.

Of all the searches conducted 28% of those were by people trying to find a last minute getaway in the sun without travelling too far to find it. The survey found that the average visitor to the site was searching for a holiday just six weeks ahead. This is a huge change from the annual January rush to book summer holidays that occurred until the popularity of online booking.

Directline-holidays founder, Tony Bradley said: ‘for many people the resorts of the Mediterranean have been familiar since their childhood. Over the years our website statistics have shown an increasing trend for more unusual destinations which fulfils people’s need for adventure and excitement from their holiday, but without the downsides of backpacking.’

The UKs top 5 most popular holiday destinations are:

1) Majorca
2) Tenerife
3) Maldives
4) Algarve
5) Gran Canaria

Story from netimperative