Brits will cover a staggering three billion miles this Christmas to visit family and friends. According to a new survey*, almost 60% of Brits will be travelling to visit relatives between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
These 27 million adults will cover an average of 121 miles on each return journey - the equivalent of over 3 billion miles**. Almost three million adults (6% of the population) will travel between 300 and 600 miles in one round trip.
Despite all the trekking, 11% of people report not liking the relatives they go to see and two thirds (67%) say it's simply because they feel obliged to see family at Christmas.
Mother-in-laws proved to be the least popular member of the family with almost one in five Brits (17.6%) saying they dread the festive encounter with their other half's mum. Brits living in the South East are the most anxious about the get together (34%).
Top ten relatives we dread seeing at Christmas:
Mother-in Law (17.6% of votes)
Aunt (7.7%)
Mother (7.2%)
Uncle (6.6%)
Sister (6.3%)
Father-in-Law (5.5%)
Grandmother (5.4%)
Brother (5.3%)
Step-mother (3.9%)
Nephew (3.8%)
Almost one in ten Brits (8%) will spend the entire period from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day with family. However, the average length of time Brits stay with relatives over Christmas is 11 hours.
Despite it being the season of goodwill, 16% of Brits say the main reason they visit relatives is to eat Christmas dinners. During Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, greedy Brits will scoff an average of two Christmas dinners complete with all the trimmings. A million Brits (2%) will eat four big celebration meals and nearly 2% of Brits will eat a minimum of seven Christmas dinners in the space of the three days.
Travelodge's Chief Operating Officer, Guy Parsons, said; "Christmas is a very busy time for our hotels but we were surprised to see just how far Brits are planning to travel this year to see friends and family. Avoid extra stress around Christmas by making sure you're well-rested before long journeys and plan regular breaks."
- Ends -
Notes to editors:
* Travelodge research conducted by 72 point in November 2006 among over 2300 UK adults.
** 3 billion miles figure is =
Number of Brits seeing family during Christmas Eve to Boxing Day = 58% of the nation
27,279,481 adults x average journey distance of 120.56 miles = 3,288,814,229 miles
For more information, please contact:
Jo Begbie
Travelodge PR Manager
01844 358 624
07841 725 053
As the first budget hotel brand to launch in the UK in 1985, Travelodge currently has approximately 283 hotels across the UK in city centres, near attractions and airports.
Cities whose residents will travel the furthest over Christmas (in miles):
London (173.8)
Belfast (160)
Birmingham (158)
Edinburgh (120)
Bristol (107)
Manchester (102.8)
Leeds (101)
Cardiff (88)
Southampton (73.3)
Nottingham (63)
Cities whose residents travel the least distance over Christmas (in miles):
Leicester (28.8)
Sunderland (30)
Liverpool (34.4)
Norwich (40)
Newcastle (43.3)
Coventry (49.3)
Bradford (50)
Sheffield (51.6)
Plymouth (52.2)
Cambridge (53)