England has been named the worst country in Europe for beach cleanliness by British holidaymakers this summer, with 45% of those who identified a problem beach naming one in England, more than three times the next-worst destination.
After a summer holiday period when 37% of UK holidaymakers chose a beach break as their preferred summer holiday – more popular than hotel and pool holidays (24%), city breaks (26%), villa or private house holidays (13%) and romantic breaks (13%) – the InsureandGo poll asked a nationally representative sample of 2,033 adults to name the beaches in the worst condition, based on first-hand experience of the countries they had visited.
Nationally, 60% of survey respondents named a country they had visited where they regarded the beaches to be in poor or polluted condition – based on their experience of litter, plastic, waste or sewerage. Of these people, the 10 countries named as having the beaches in worst condition comprised of:
|
Rank |
Destination |
% naming it |
|
1 |
England |
45% |
|
2 |
Spain |
12% |
|
3 |
Wales |
12% |
|
4 |
France |
9% |
|
5 |
Turkey |
9% |
|
6 |
Greece |
8% |
|
7 |
Scotland |
8% |
|
8 |
Italy |
7% |
|
9 |
Portugal |
6% |
|
10 |
Cyprus |
6% |
Away from the list of the worst 10 countries, three destinations stood out for the opposite reason: Malta (5%), Bulgaria (5%) and Croatia (4%) drew the fewest complaints of anywhere in the study.
With October half-term and the first winter sun bookings only weeks away, this year’s verdict on Britain’s beaches could shape where holidaymakers choose to go next.
Garry Nelson, Head of Corporate Affairs at InsureandGo, said: “We aim to help holidaymakers have stress-free holidays and to go without the doubt – so as summer ends, we have taken some time listen to UK holidaymakers and assess their views on holiday experiences over the summer. Extreme heat was a major factor for many, as was the desire to pick destinations regarded to be safe – especially after some of the geo-political tensions since the spring. We also noted holidaymaker views on the countries where the beaches disappointed this summer, which is significant at a time when so many UK holidaymakers prioritised a good beach break for their main holiday of the year.”
For more information on InsureandGo visit https://www.insureandgo.com