Dubai.
The Long Haul Holiday Index, which lists the world’s most popular long haul beach destinations amongst British families, places the ever-popular UAE destination of Dubai in first place.
From warm seas to waterparks and balmy winter temperatures – the most popular exotic destinations calculated and ranked Dubai named best value for families.
Cancun grabs second place
As millions of British families begin planning and booking their winter sun holiday, looking to escape wet and windy Britain, a comprehensive study by On the Beach, the UK’s biggest beach holiday specialist, has calculated and ranked the world’s most popular long haul beach holiday destinations, to reveal which offers the best value for money and balmiest winter sun opportunity.
The Long Haul Holiday Index , which lists the world’s most popular long haul beach destinations amongst British families, places the ever-popular UAE destination of Dubai in first place.
The online travel agent compared 10 of our favourite long haul hot spots – Dubai, Cancun, Ras Al Khaimah, Dominican Republic, Phuket, Barbados, Cuba, Mauritius, Saint Lucia and Antigua.
The research team at On the Beach looked at five key criteria that are amongst the most important to holidaymakers when choosing a destination, then combined and weighted the results to calculate an overall score out of 100 and position ranking.
The criteria included:
- Average temperature (October to March)
- Average sea temperature (October to March)
- Flight duration
- Number of attractions (water and amusement parks)
- Average cost of a one-week holiday (family of four)
The study was conducted in order to help families find their perfect beach break, and the glitzy destination of Dubai, which welcomes more than 1.5 million British holidaymakers to its shores each year – grabbed the top spot with an index score of 77.45.
The sun-kissed destination boasts the highest number of water and amusement parks (20), out of all destinations in the study, and is also one of the closest destinations to the UK, with an average direct flight taking less than seven hours.
Grabbing second place behind Dubai, Cancun is named the second best value long haul destination for British families, with an index score of 69.35.
Whilst the Mexican resort on the Yucatan Peninsula, netted lower points for its longer flight duration in comparison to some destinations, it held second place due to its number of water and amusement parks (12), and the average cost of a family holiday.
Ras Al Khaimah, which at 115km north of Dubai is the northernmost emirate of the United Arab Emirates and known for its stunning Arabian Gulf beaches, is named the third best value long haul destination for families.
Boasting glorious average temperatures of 26o during the winter sun season, and the shortest flight duration from the UK (joint with Dubai), Ras Al Khaimah has an index score of 63.35.
Phuket, the stunning Thai island, grabs fourth place with a score of 61.00, whilst the Dominican Republic completes the top five list, with a score of 60.00.
Best value long haul destinations for families:
- Dubai: 77.45
- Cancun: 69.35
- Ras Al Khaimah: 63.35
- Phuket: 61.00
- Dominican Republic: 60.00
- Mauritius: 56.40
- Saint Lucia: 54.65
- Barbados: 54.10
- Cuba: 53.15
- Antigua: 48.65
Best by category – weather
For those looking to escape to warmer climes, research conducted by On the Beach reveals that Phuket enjoys the warmest average temperature of 27.5o during the winter months, whilst the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia takes second place, experiencing average temperatures of 27o.
Ras Al Khaimah, Dominican Republic, Barbados and Antigua all share third place with an average temperature of 26o, whilst the beautiful Indian Ocean destination of Mauritius takes fourth place with an average winter sun temperature of 25o.
The Mexican resort of Cancun completes the top five list, with an average temperature of 24.5o during the winter sun season.
Best by category – warmest seas
Phuket, the island in the Andaman Sea grabs top spot once again, with the sea temperatures averaging 29o during the winter sun season, with Saint Lucia taking second place with an average sea temperature of 28o.
The Caribbean islands of the Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Barbados and Antigua, along with Cancun share third place with 27o, whilst Mauritius grabs fourth spot, with an average sea temperature of 26o.
Ras Al Khaimah completes the top five list with an average sea temperature of 25o during the winter sun season.
Best by category – shortest flights
Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai jointly hold first place for those looking to reach warmer shores in the shortest time, with an average direct flight taking just 405 minutes (six hours and 45 minutes).
The Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic takes second place, with an average flight duration of 550 minutes (nine hours and 10 mins), whilst flights to Saint Lucia and Antigua take just a little longer at 585 minutes (nine hours and 45 minutes), putting them in joint third place.
Cancun (640 minutes – 10 hours and 40 minutes) and Barbados (740 minutes – 12 hours and 10 minutes), completes the top five list.
Best by category – water and amusement parks
For families looking for thrills and spills, Dubai is once again the overall winner with a whopping 20 parks, including IMG Worlds of Adventure, the world’s biggest indoor theme park, and family favourite, the Arabian-themed Wild Wadi water park.
In second place is Cancun, which is home to 12 parks, including the popular Ventura Park, with its six themed ‘worlds’.
Mauritius grabs third place with six parks, whilst Antigua and the Dominican Republic jointly hold fourth position, with five parks.
Thailand’s Phuket island completes the top five list with four parks.
Best by category – Cheapest holiday prices (for a family of four)
For families looking for the best family holiday in terms of cost, the sun-kissed Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah is the most affordable option, grabbing first place, whilst Dubai and Barbados are jointly named the second best value long haul destinations.
Despite being the farthest afield, Thailand’s island of Phuket is named the third best value destination, closely followed by Barbados and Cuba.
Alan Harding, Marketing Director at On the Beach comments: “Dubai has enjoyed many years as a favourite destination amongst Britons looking to enjoy golden beaches and warmer weather during our winter months and beyond. Long associated with luxury, some might be surprised to learn that Dubai also offers the very best value for money for those looking to jet off to a long haul destination over the cold winter months.”
“Our research also shows that there are many popular destinations across the globe which also offer great value, such as Mexico, the Caribbean and Thailand. Not only do they offer great value in terms of beautiful weather and family-friendly parks and amusements, in-resort costs in many of these destinations are often very affordable. We hope our index will help families choose their next long haul holiday, based on what’s important to them.”
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
