Travellers 'driven by active holidays'

Those looking to take trips abroad are thinking about going on adventure holidays more than before, according to Frances Tuke, spokesperson for the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta).

Due to this, places in South America have become more accessible and travellers are more willing to go there for three to four weeks, she adds.

Commenting on the way people book their travel expeditions, Ms Tuke highlights UK travellers in a positive way.

"As a nation we're very confident travellers and we've travelled a lot. We're very confident about going to destinations that we've visited before by booking the component parts [separately]," she remarks.

Ms Tuke also suggests that the British travel industry has changed over the years with a number of Abta members "repositioning their businesses".

"A few years ago we had a few hundred registered websites, now we have over 7,000," she states.

Recent research from the European Travel Commission shows that 31 per cent of adults in Britain plan to organise and book their holidays over the internet in 2008.

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