According to a new study by the UK’s online independent travel agent, sunshine.co.uk, the majority of Britons actively seek out typically ‘British’ home comforts when on holiday abroad. 27% of British holidaymakers only eat food abroad that they’d eat at home, failing to try foreign cuisine.
 
New research by one of the UK’s leading online independent travel agents has revealed that the majority of Britons that go on holiday abroad actively seek out home comforts, with many blaming ‘habit’ as their reason for doing so.
 
sunshine.co.uk polled 1,509 British holidaymakers as part of a study into the holiday habits of people around the UK. All respondents had been abroad on holiday in the past year and were asked questions about their experience.
 
When asked, ‘Did you try to speak the language of the country you last visited on holiday?’ less than one in ten, 9%, said that they did have a go. Respondents were then asked if they expected people in overseas resorts to be able to speak English, to which 48% answered ‘yes’.
 
Respondents were then asked, ‘Do you actively seek out British home comforts abroad when on holiday?’ to which 55% of the people polled answered ‘yes’. These people were then asked to specify from multiple answers what things they specifically looked out for and the results, according to sunshine.co.uk, were as follows:
- Restaurants serving British food – 37%
- British bars – 25%
- UK TV channels – 21%
- British stores – 17%
- British brands – 12%. “I think it’s a real shame when British holidaymakers don’t attempt to try the language or cuisine of the country they are visiting. It seems a waste to fly thousands of miles away on holiday and just end up seeking out British home comforts.
 
“We’d definitely recommend at least trying a little of what the resort or country has to offer, but you don’t often get the opportunity to do so. It is a bonus that many resorts have some of the same restaurants that you’d find in the UK, like Pizza Hut and McDonalds, but eating there every day would be a real waste. I wasn’t surprised to find that some actively avoid British home comforts when abroad.” 
 
When asked whether or not they tried the foreign cuisine on their last holiday, 27% said they only ate what they would normally have at home. Despite the findings, one in five, 21%, claimed to actively avoid ‘British’ home comforts abroad. When asked why, the majority, 63%, said they wanted to experience the cultural differences abroad.
 
Chris Brown, co-founder of sunshine.co.uk, commented on the findings;