New research has revealed that the Isle of Wight is the most popular UK holiday destination according to a study conducted by GO Outdoors.
The study looked at the number of annual holiday searches of each UK destination to determine the most popular UK holiday destinations and the Isle of Wight easily came out on top with over 100,000 more searches than it’s nearest rival.
The outdoor experts at GO Outdoors said:
“Just off the South Coast of England, the Isle of Wight takes the top spot as the most sought-after holiday destination, with an estimated 234,960 annual holiday searches. The Isle of Wight has an array of things to do and places to travel in and around the island, such as visiting Sandham Gardens or the Needles landmark.”
You can find the full list below:
| Rank | Destination | Annual Holiday Searches |
| 1 | Isle of Wight | 234,960 |
| 2 | Isles of Scilly | 132,600 |
| 3 | St Ives | 110,370 |
| 4 | Blackpool | 79,500 |
| 5 | London | 71,460 |
| 6 | Brighton | 63,140 |
| 7 | Edinburgh | 62,440 |
| 8 | Great Yarmouth | 59,090 |
| 9 | Skegness | 48,150 |
| 10 | Tenby | 43,630 |
So this is the most popular by holiday searches, not by actual visitor numbers. I’m sure when they see the prices being charged by the profiteering ferry companies, they realise it is cheaper to fly to Spain than it is to cross the Solent!
Cheaper to fly to Spain? return fares on wightlink are around £30, don’t think even Ryanair are that cheap!
LOL….
£417.20 for a 2 week return for car & 4 in August !
and as for £30 foot passenger day return…
it’s only £35 foot passenger day return.to the Scilly Isles .. & that’s 3 times longer !
You don’t fly to Spain with your car and each passenger is charged individually rather than up to 7 in a car.
But, for most people who are booking a holiday here, the ferry fare is included in the price of the holiday, and the fares are heavily subsidised because of the numbers that the holiday companies bring.
Most of the larger hotels will have arrangements with the ferry companies where your crossing is included in the price, as do the likes of Parkdean resorts, the larger camping and caravan sites etc. I’d wager that the vast majority of holidays booked on the Island are inclusive of ferry travel.
So, your argument doesn’t stack up, especially as figures show that visitor numbers are actually increasing.
It’s actually us, the residents, who are paying the high prices, not the tourists.
Took the words right outa my mouth.
Sandham Gardens, a bucket list must on the worlds list for sure.
Good God.
Perhaps Sandham Gardens will update the photo’s on web site to avoid what you obviously feel with be a disappointment to visitors.
The Isle of Wight may be at the top for holiday searches, that doesn’t mean they are at the top for actual holiday bookings after trying to book a ferry and finding out how much it would cost on top of their accommodation. I have a sister that has holiday accommodation and has said on numerous occasions that bookings have been cancelled after finding out the cost of the ferry’s.
Then your sister needs to get an account with one or both of the ferry companies so she can sell them discounted tickets. These accounts are not just for the big boys.
I’m afraid that’s not possible, I too have a holiday accommodation, and do obtain a list of discount codes for Red Funnel ferry’s, I cannot obtain discount codes for wight link ferries becouse I do not have multiple accommodations, in other words I’m not wealthy enough to obtain them.
Searches mean nothing unless they actually visit. Like others have said the cost of getting here and seeing the Solent is expensive. Cheaper to have a cruise.
“Cheaper to have a cruise” not sure that is true as a family of 4 is £2k plus.
And yet visitor numbers are increasing?
As I replied to someone else on here, most holidays to the Island are inclusive of ferry travel and the actual ferry price in the total is heavily subsidised because of the numbers these holiday companies are bringing.
How many of those searches translate into visits? Especially after they get the shock of seeing the ferry prices?
Apparently, Isle of Wight has 2.6 million holiday visits per year. The numbers from the London area have increased by 50% in last four years but coach tour numbers have fallen off a cliff. Thus, the average visitor profile is changing.
Obviously, this “survey” is not really of much use and I suspect it must be related to “Go Outdoors” customers. The Isles of Scilly get 200k visits per year and St Ives gets a similar amount. However, Blackpool gets 18 million per year, London gets over 21 million per year, etc. These search figures don’t ring true and must have been obtained in a very narrow window or special circumstances. Surely, far more people are doing searches for Blackpool and London.
I doubt this is Just Holliday maker numbers. More people are travelling to mainland for work now and the residents trips to mainland hospitals, seeing friends and family etc as well as people coming here for work, college etc
Maybe try reading the article before writing nonsense. The article is about searches on the Internet.
What a joke .. have the clicks been checked to see that it was not a bunch of geeks .. paid to click and bump the numbers up, you may think it’s affordable to visit until the rip off ferries and poor visitor attraction !! Then Change the minds .. look at Sandown (aka Shabby town )
Check out Turd towns Isle of Wight video on
YOU TUBE
https://youtu.be/K3DcJxL_tlk
It’s a great video.
We come over twice a year, and have done for the last decade, ferry has always been at a discounted rate, as part included in the holiday. People that think they can go abroad or a cruise for the same money are just not looking.
Most expensive Ferry in the world per mile.
24/7 365 days a year parking charges.
Traffic Enforcement Officers are like a rash, forever pestering holidaymakers.
and finally Sandown looks like It was blitzed overnight and no one cleared the rubble.
Number 1 my a*se!