Travel: Men take off as women miss out

When it comes to getting away from it all, men are doing better than women, figures show.

Last year, men were responsible for 56 per cent of all visits abroad by Britons and accounted for 59 per cent of spending overseas. Women aged 35 to 54 particularly missed out on foreign trips, with men dominating the travelling done in this age bracket. From the Office for National Statistics' Travel Trends 1996 report, the figures, which include business travel, also revealed that more than 21 per cent of visits overseas last year were made by Britons aged 25 to 34; men aged 45 to 54 and women aged 25 to 34 spent the most; and Britons spent more than 450 million nights abroad.