Greece has kept its seat at the top table of UK holiday destinations, ranking fifth both for trips taken over the past year and for travel plans in the year ahead. That is the picture painted by the Holiday Habits 2026-27 report from ABTA, the United Kingdom's travel trade association.
In the twelve months to July 2026, Greece placed fifth among the countries visited by UK holidaymakers, named by 12 percent of respondents who had taken a holiday and holding exactly the position it occupied in 2025. Spain led the field on 36 percent, followed by France at 24 percent, Italy at 15 percent and the USA at 14 percent.
Greece clung to fifth spot among the countries visited by UK travelers in the year to July 2026, trailing Spain, France, Italy and the USA. Source: ABTA Holiday Habits 2026-27
The forward-looking picture echoes the recent one. Among respondents planning to go abroad, Greece again ranks fifth as a destination under consideration for the next twelve months, selected by 11 percent of those intending to travel overseas. Spain tops future preferences at 26 percent, with France and Italy level at 14 percent each and the USA close behind at 13 percent.
European destinations claim seven of the top 15 spots in UK holidaymakers' plans for the year ahead, per ABTA's survey. Source: ABTA Holiday Habits 2026-27
Among the countries competing with Greece for UK custom, Portugal came sixth in the past-year ranking with 11 percent, Turkey took eighth with 9 percent and Cyprus placed tenth at six percent. ABTA members also reported that disruption tied to the conflict in the Middle East pushed some travel demand toward alternative destinations, Spain among them.
The wider demand for holidays looks resilient. Eighty-eight percent of UK adults took a break in the past twelve months, a one-percentage-point rise that brings the figure back to the pre-pandemic level recorded in 2019. The share heading abroad for their holiday climbed from 59 to 62 percent.
The findings come from a nationally representative survey of 2,082 UK adults, carried out between July 21 and August 6, 2026.
The package holiday remains the vehicle of choice for trips abroad: 63 percent of overseas holidaymakers booked one, two percentage points up on the year before. The figure climbs to 78 percent among families with children under five and to 75 percent among families with older children.
Value for money tops the list of reasons for choosing a package, cited by 48 percent of bookers, up from 43 percent. Convenience follows at 45 percent, a jump of nine percentage points.
Most UK travelers expect holiday budgets to stay broadly unchanged over the coming year, with the proportion intending to spend more slipping a little. Source: ABTA Holiday Habits 2026-27
According to ABTA Chief Executive Mark Tanzer, growing numbers of customers are booking through travel agents and tour operators, and increasingly opting for packages, drawn by the protection such bookings provide — and viewing them as dependable routes to good value in a cost-conscious climate.
Bookings made through agents and tour operators for trips abroad rose to 38 percent, from 34 percent a year earlier. Among families vacationing overseas, the all-inclusive option became the most popular board basis, chosen by 43 percent.
City breaks have overtaken the classic beach getaway as the most popular kind of holiday, climbing six percentage points to 53 percent of respondents who took a trip, while beach holidays inched up from 48 to 49 percent.
UK travelers now put city breaks ahead of beach trips as their favorite type of holiday, with countryside breaks holding third. Source: ABTA Holiday Habits 2026-27
Beach breaks nonetheless remain the leading choice among families and among travelers aged 25 to 34 — a style of trip for which Greece, with its mix of celebrated shores and quieter hidden beaches, continues to be a natural fit.
Looking to the year ahead, the two formats remain neck and neck, with city breaks at 51 percent and beach holidays at 50 percent. Appetite for discovery is strong too: 54 percent are weighing up a resort or city they have never visited, and 48 percent intend to set foot in a new country. For anyone considering Greece as that first-time destination, the country's food traditions are a lure in their own right, as our guide to a culinary journey through Greece illustrates.
Family and friends stay the top source of holiday inspiration at 42 percent, while reliance on AI tools has grown from 8 to 14 percent — reaching 29 percent among travelers aged 25 to 34.
Even amid economic and travel-related uncertainty, 70 percent of UK adults intend to take an overseas holiday in the next twelve months, essentially level with 71 percent last year. Plans for domestic UK holidays also rose, from 54 to 56 percent.
Seven in ten UK adults intend to holiday abroad over the next twelve months — yet fewer have locked plans in, with later booking increasingly the norm. Source: ABTA Holiday Habits 2026-27
Still, the booking window appears to be stretching later. Among those planning a trip abroad, 46 percent had already secured at least part of their travel, down from 48 percent the previous year, while the share who had booked every planned overseas trip slipped from 18 to 16 percent.
Spending intentions point in the same cautious direction. Thirty-two percent expect to spend more on holidays, down from 34 percent, and 15 percent plan to spend less. Some 32 percent would trim their spending on overseas trips, against 23 percent for holidays at home — although just 7 percent said cost-of-living pressures would stop them from taking any holiday at all.
ABTA's Travel Confidence Index currently reads +50 — three points lower than in 2025, yet a clear recovery from +26 in May 2026, when worries over jet fuel supplies and disruption around Europe's Entry/Exit System (EES) knocked confidence.
Worry about overtourism held steady at 57 percent, while awareness of protests against tourism fell from 77 to 72 percent.
For all the challenges, Tanzer's message was upbeat: the industry can move forward in the knowledge that organized travel continues to be in demand.
About Hotel Mediterraneo • Chora, Ios
We are a boutique hotel in Chora, Ios Island, Greece. Our team is passionate about sharing the authentic beauty, culinary traditions, and stories of the Cyclades with guests from around the globe.
Explore Hotel & Accommodations
