Revealed: Stressed Britons are shunning relaxing beach holidays in favour of activity-packed breaks
- Study of 2,000 adults found less than half would choose a beach holiday to relax
- Instead, one in seven would book a trip designed to get their adrenaline racing
- One in five also said they turn to ‘active outdoor pursuits’ to relieve their stress
Britons are turning their backs on relaxing beach holidays for adrenaline-fuelled activity breaks, new research suggests.
A study of 2,000 UK adults found that when they are feeling under pressure, four in 10 have booked a trip away to give them something to look forward to.
But surprisingly, 41 per cent admit they struggle to unwind if they go on a break which involves nothing more than sitting by the pool.
Britons are turning their backs on relaxing beach holidays and would rather take an adrenaline-fuelled activity break, according to a new study
As a result, less than half of respondents (42 per cent) choose a quiet beach holiday when they want to relax, with around one in seven booking a trip designed to get their adrenaline racing instead.
One in 10 have booked a skiing trip, while others have taken holidays to locations where they are able to try hang gliding, water skiing or surfing.
The study, by Heathrow Airport, also revealed one in five now turn to active outdoor pursuits to relieve stress, with half saying that playing a sport or being active is a ‘real release’ from the pressures of everyday life.
The study also found three-quarters of Britons describe their lives as generally stressful, and 76 per cent believe they’ve also got more susceptible to stress as they’ve aged.
Less than half of respondents (42 per cent) to the survey would choose a quiet beach holiday when they want to relax, with around one in seven booking a trip designed to get their adrenaline racing instead
But more than a fifth feel ‘completely free’ when they’re doing something that gets their blood pumping.
And a third say it makes them feel ‘alive’.
Just over 15 per cent think an adrenaline spike helps them ‘get out of their own head’ and the same amount says it makes them feel free of stress.
It also emerged 23 per cent have been on a skiing holiday, and 26 per cent haven’t, but would like to.
Three-quarters of those who have been skiing say they feel they get to really unwind from the stress and strains of everyday life when they are on the ski slopes.
The study, by Heathrow Airport, revealed one in five now turn to active outdoor pursuits to relieve stress
But while 31 per cent head to the same skiing destination, an adventurous 29 per cent try a different slope every time they go away and are willing to travel for around three-and-a-half hours to experience something completely new.
When choosing where to go, location and cost is the most important factor, followed by good value, travelling time and challenging slopes, according to the survey carried out via OnePoll.
A spokesman for Heathrow, which commissioned the research to mark the launch of a new ski route, said: ‘We could all do with making sure we deal with our stress – and doing something exciting can help.
‘An activity or trip that takes you out of your comfort zone can help to focus the mind on the task at hand, and of course, often these more extreme activities are sports or exercise-based, which has been shown to help improve mental health.
‘Ski season provides a great opportunity for an adrenaline-fuelled trip, especially now that Scandinavian Airlines has launched its route from Heathrow to the new Scandinavian Mountains Airport in Sälen.’