Traditional beach stays are getting a run for their money from tailor-made trips involving two or more destinations, according to the first 2012 trend report from Hayes & Jarvis. The long haul specialist has seen a sharp rise in bookings for multi-centre holidays over the past 12 months and says that the biggest growth has come from emerging destinations in Latin America, led by Costa Rica and Argentina. The USA remains top choice for adventurous British tourists while San Francisco and Dubai are the most popular places for a one or two night en route stopover.

Hayes & Jarvis Commercial Director Niel Alobaidi said: "Off-the-peg packages are still very popular to beach resorts in places like Mauritius, the Maldives and Thailand but growing numbers of Britons travelling to long haul destinations are now demanding more varied experiences in return for parting with their holiday pounds. 

"Twin and multi centre trips account for most of our bookings to Latin America and China where there has been spectacular growth over the past 12 months. Demand for Argentina has mushroomed by 150 per cent as holidaymakers make Buenos Aires the stepping off point for South American tours. China bookings are up 68 per cent year-on-year while Costa Rica beach and nature tour business has exploded with growth of over 2000 per cent."

Hayes & Jarvis Top10 Multi Centre Destinations

• California: combinations of LA, San Francisco, San Diego and national parks
• Thailand: Bangkok and Thai beach stay
• Cuba: Varadero and Havana
• Hawaii and San Francisco
• Malaysia: combinations of Langkawi, Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Borneo
• China: Beijing and Xian or country tours
• Dubai stopover, en route to Mauritius or the Maldives
• Sri Lanka and the Maldives
• Costa Rica: Guanacaste or Papagayo beach stays twinned with nature tours
• Argentina: Buenos Aires city break twinned with mini tours or longer cross-country South America tours

Hayes & Jarvis expects 2011's success story, Mexico, to benefit from the twin centre trend as tourists double their destinations by combining Las Vegas, New York or Florida with a beach stay in Cancun or on the Riviera Maya. Another tip for the top in 2012 is Malaysia where multi centre trips combining Kuala Lumpur with Langkawi, Penang and Borneo already account for more than half of H&J bookings to the country. Two centre holidays featuring Borneo grew by 25 per cent in 2011 and look set to do well in the year ahead as more Britons choose trips that offer nature-based experiences.

H&J tips Vietnam as a multi centre hotspot for 2012. Niel Alobaidi said: "Value is the basis for success across all holidays these days and the best selling twin and multi centre destinations have got where they are because of competitive flight prices, strong hotel offers and good availability when clients want to travel. That's why we expect Vietnam to become a tailor-made best seller in the coming year. With the new direct flights from Gatwick Airport to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and a glut of hotel openings on its beaches, we expect to see an explosion in demand for Vietnam."

The top destination choice for holidaymakers looking to create a detailed tailor-made itinerary is West Coast USA where self drive trips between San Francisco and Los Angeles are most popular. Thailand city, culture and beach breaks are a close runner up, where the possibilities for adventurous tourists are endless. Coming up fast behind are tailor-made trips to Sri Lanka's World Heritage Sites, national parks and tea plantations, which have increased in popularity since the ending of the Tamil Tiger conflict two years ago.

Hayes & Jarvis Top10 Tailor Made Destinations

• USA
• Thailand
• Sri Lanka
• Malaysia
• Bali
• Kenya
• Canada
• South Africa
• China
• India.