On the eve of the announcement of the upcoming royal wedding, a new travel industry survey of over 1,000 newlyweds has named Paphos on the island of Cyprus as the most popular destination for honeymooning couples this year. The study, which also questioned the respondents about their wedding gifts and their idea of the perfect honeymoon, reveals that the couples questioned have turned away from the more traditional honeymoon destinations in favour of cheap holidays to Cyprus, and this result could lead to more bookings for holidays to the island, say ulookubook.com.

Ian Raine of online holiday firm ulookubook.com says: “The results of this survey are particularly interesting, as none of the couples questioned chose to go to Paris, and only 2 of the 1,078 couples questioned travelled to Venice for their honeymoon. Both of these destinations have long been a favourite destination for romantic getaways and these new figures reveal that we could just see more couples travel to Cyprus for their honeymoon next year."

While Cyprus held the top spot in the top ten, other popular holiday destinations also scored highly, with the Dominican Republic coming second and Cape Verde in Africa taking third place. Other notable destinations included New York at number five and Sharm el Sheikh, which came tenth. While Cyprus has been a popular summer holiday destination with travellers for many years, travel insiders believe that these results are due to the optimum weather conditions and the abundance of activities available on the island.

Rain continues: “Cyprus is often credited for having the longest summer in Europe, which gives travellers the chance to experience great weather all year-round. It’s also known as the ‘island of love’ because it is named as the home of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. So while Cyprus is ideal for honeymooning couples, it’s also a great destination for any holidaymaker, regardless of their marital status, as short breaks and all inclusive holidays in Cyprus offer visitors countless activities, tours and luxuries to suit most tastes.”