UK tourists 'get on their bikes'

The report found 16% of UK adults had been on a cycling holiday

A growing number of British holidaymakers are spending their breaks on two wheels, a survey suggests.

In 2006, Britons took 450,000 cycling holidays - up 30% on the previous year, according to analysts Mintel.

UK tourists spent £120m on such holidays in 2006, the report added, with the Tour de France's arrival in England generating interest.

Richard Cope, senior travel consultant at Mintel, said: "Britain is becoming a nation of cycling enthusiasts."

He added: "Cycling has been given a new lease of life by recent environmental issues such as sustainable transport, carbon emissions and eco travel."

In total, the survey found that 16% of UK adults - 8m people - have already been on a cycling holiday and 12% (6m) would like to do so in the future.

The survey also found that a further 2.25m holidays taken by people from the UK included a cycling trip of some kind, such as one-day bike hire or a cycling tour of a city.

Researchers spoke to 2,000 adults aged 16 and over during May 2007.

Popular destinations

Meanwhile, a poll from insurance company Zurich suggests that more and more Britons are driving to holiday destinations to avoid airport queues.

More than two in five of those questioned said they planned to drive to a holiday destination in the UK or Europe in the next few months.

Nearly, a quarter of those said they were prepared to travel on journeys of more than 750 miles.

Devon and Cornwall were the most popular UK places for motoring holidaymakers.

The most popular overseas destinations were the Normandy, Brittany and Loire Valley regions of France.

The YouGov survey, on behalf of Zurich, questioned 2,120 adults.