Spanish like their holidays at home: report

Spain was one of the top destinations for international travelers during 2015 with over 68 million foreigners visiting the country to set a new record for tourist numbers.

Early figures for 2016 show that record number of visitors looks certain to grow even more this year, so it is no surprise that if Spain is attractive to foreigners it is even more attractive to the people who already live there.

The "Spanish Holiday Habits" survey carried out by the Madison Market Research group discovered that 90 percent of Spaniards prefer to spend their holidays in their homeland rather than travel abroad.

The survey shows that little has changed in the holiday habits of the average Spaniard over the last 40 years, with 50 percent of those questioned saying their favorite destination was the beach, while a third also enjoy visiting new cities and enjoying the local gastronomy.

One thing that Spaniards have altered over the past 20 years, however, is where they prefer to stay, with the majority swapping the holiday home they used to own at the coast for either hotels and holiday apartments.

Although they are on holiday the majority of Spaniards need to stay connected with two thirds saying they use social networks while away be it through their mobile phone, iPad or laptop.

And what do they drink when on holiday? There is a runaway favorite ... the favorite drink of the Spanish is beer; but as the survey was commissioned by the Spanish Brewers' Association (Cerveceros de Espana), that is hardly a surprise. Endit