Hotels.com has revealed an increase in searches for winter sun holiday destinations among Irish travellers in the first two weeks of January this year when compared with the same period in 2009.

The increased searches for winter sun destinations on Hotels.com indicate that the Irish are looking to escape to warmer climes to get them through what has so far been a cold and wet start to the year.

Of the most popular destinations for travel searches, Miami Beach in Florida showed the biggest increase year-on-year, up by 89 per cent for the first two weeks of January 2010 when compared to the same period in 2009.

Searches for hotels in Gran Canaria rose by 50 per cent when compared with the 2009 figures, whilst searches for Hurghada in Egypt; Bali in Indonesia and Phuket in Thailand each increased by 46 per cent, 30 per cent and 27 per cent respectively.

Possible reasons for the trend could be attributed to the fact that Ireland has experienced such unsettled weather conditions this winter and that hotel prices continue to fall worldwide, offering better affordability for all travellers.

Alison Couper, director of communications for Hotels.com commented; "The search results indicate that the Irish are seriously seeking some sun this winter and taking advantage of the excellent hotel room deals available right now."