SPAIN was the most popular destination for European travellers last year, with 12% of holidaymakers from across the continent choosing to go there.
France was closely behind, attracting 11%, while Germany and Italy shared third place with 8%, according to statistics released at ITB by research company IPK International.
Sun and beach destinations proved the most popular choice, with two-thirds choosing to travel in the summer season, but there was an increase in demand last year for health-orientated holidays.
Germany had the highest number of travellers – 28 out of every 100 went abroad last year, compared to 14% of the UK population. Figures show that Europeans went on 326m outbound trips last year, an increase of 6% in the total number of trips in 1998.