Christmas 'the new summer' for holidays

The popularity of winter breaks is rising so significantly among Britons that Christmas can almost be considered 'the new summer', according to a survey.

A poll by travel search engine Kayak.co.uk found that 75 per cent of Brits are considering taking a foreign holiday over Christmas this year.

Following a particularly wet summer in the UK, 43 per cent of people said that the weather was the main factor that made them want to take a foreign break over the festive period.

Some 65 per cent of respondents to the survey said a sunny beach holiday would be their ideal getaway and 46 per cent said the Caribbean would be their destination of choice.

Annie Wilson, business development director of Kayak.co.uk, said: "The great British summer has been a wash out this year, so who can blame us sun-starved Brits for wanting to escape to sunnier shores?

"Christmas is traditionally a time for staying at home, but sometimes you just need to break with tradition and let someone else cook and clean while you catch some much-needed rays."

There still appears to be a lot of affection for seasonal traditions in British society however, with 41 per cent of people saying they would not like to be away from their family at Christmas and 16 per cent claiming that they could not go without presents.