This section of July's survey was dedicated to the theme of holidays, and particularly your Autumn and Winter breaks - including winter sun and winter sports trips.
AUTUMN BREAKS
We asked Urban Lifers in July whether you were planning to take an "Autumn Break" this year i.e. to go away in September, October or November. In total, two-thirds said they would - 33% said "definitely", 33% said "probably".In terms of the top "genres" or types of holidays Urbanites plan to take this Autumn, 40% said their trip would have a city-break element, 35% said a beach holiday element and 23% said it would involve visiting friends or relatives. 20% said their trip would have a cultural element e.g. sightseeing and 13% said it would have an adventure or activity element e.g. cycling, scuba diving.
CITY BREAKS
On average, each Urban Lifer has taken 1.5 city-break holidays so far in the first half of 2005. While 38% have not taken any so far this year, 36% have taken two or more city-breaks. When it comes to city breaks, how experimental are you?
| Always go to a city I've been to before and know I'll like | 2% |
| Usually go to a city I've been to before and know I'll like | 6% |
| I like to do a bit of both (the known and unknown) | 45% |
| Usually go to a city I've never been to before to try it | 34% |
| Always go to a city I've never been to before to try it | 10% |
| Don't usually take city-breaks | 3% |
We then asked you to pick up to 3 cities you thought you were most likely to take your next city-break in. The top 5 are below - Barcelona was favourite for the second year running:
| 1. | Barcelona | 26% |
| 2. | New York | 22% |
| 3. | Prague | 22% |
| 4. | Amsterdam | 21% |
| 5. | Paris | 18% |
WINTER BREAKS
We asked you all in July whether you were planning to take a "Winter Break" this winter i.e. to go away in December, January or February 2006. In total, four out of ten Urban Lifers said they would - 17% said "definitely", 24% said "probably.In terms of the top "genres" or types of holidays you plan to take this winter, 30% said their winter trip would involve visiting friends or relatives, 28% said their trip would be for "winter sun" i.e. primarily beach-based, and 27% said it would involve a city break. 25% of Urbanites said their trip would be for "winter sports" i.e. involving skiing or snowboarding, and 9% planned to take an activity/adventure trip that did not involve snow!
WINTER SUN
Of the 41% of Urbanites who said they planned to take a winter break, 28% of you said you would take a winter sun trip. We asked these people (who represent 11% of all Urban Lifers) where they planned to go:
| Europe | 30% | 75% planned to go to Spain (Mainland 53%, Canaries 22%) |
| Asia | 18% | Top 3 countries = Thailand, India, Malaysia |
| Australia/New Zealand | 15% | 70% to Australia, 30% to New Zealand |
| Caribbean | 13% | Top 3 countries = Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica |
| Southern Africa | 10% | 80% planned to go solely to South Africa |
| North Africa | 10% | Top 3 countries = Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia |
| South America | 9% | Top 3 countries = Brazil, Argentina, Mexico |
| North America | 6% | Top 3 states = Florida, California, New York |
On average, each Urbanite plans to spend £778 per person on their next winter sun holiday. The 5 main factors which will affect your choice of winter sun holiday booked are: Value for money 65%, Hours of sunshine 55%, Quality of beaches 47%, Resort facilities 38% and Peace & Quiet 32%.
WINTER SPORTS
Of the 41% of you who said you planned to take a winter break, 25% said you would take a winter sports trip. We asked these people (who represent 10% of all Urban Lifers) where they planned to go:
| France | 39% |
| Austria | 21% |
| Italy | 18% |
| Switzerland | 17% |
| Canada | 15% |
| USA | 11% |
| Andorra | 9% |
| Bulgaria | 3% |
| Other | 6% |
| Don't know | 16% |
