New research by one of the UK’s leading online independent travel agencies has revealed that Britons are a friendly bunch when it comes to holidays abroad, with two thirds claiming to have made friends with fellow holidaymakers on their last overseas holiday.

It seems that holidays abroad are the ideal scenario in which to meet new friends, with two thirds of Britons claiming they did exactly that on their last overseas trip; according to the research by the UK’s fastest growing online independent travel agencies.

www.sunshine.co.uk carried out the study as part of ongoing research into the holiday habits of British holidaymakers. 2,016 UK adults were polled in the study, each of whom had been abroad on holiday in the past 12 months. Respondents were asked questions surrounding their last trip abroad and what they got up to on their holiday.

When asked, ‘Did you socialise and/or make friends with fellow holidaymakers on your last trip abroad?’ 67% of those who took part in the study said ‘yes’. These respondents were then asked whether or not they had kept in touch with any of the people they met on their last holiday, to which a third, 35%, said ‘yes’.

Of those who hadn’t kept in touch, 28% said they would have liked to, but they didn’t exchange contact details with the people they had met. 2% of those who had kept in touch with the people they met on holiday said they were planning on going abroad together at the same time in the future.

Sunshine.co.uk asked those respondents who had made friends whilst on holiday where they lived back home in the UK, in order to find out where was home to the ‘friendliest’ holidaymakers. According to the results, the friendliest holidaymakers, based on those who are most likely to make friends with fellow tourists on holiday, were from the following areas:

1.       Yorkshire

2.       Devon

3.       Essex

4.       Glamorgan

5.       Cornwall

6.       Sussex

7.       Nottinghamshire

8.       Herefordshire

9.       Avon

10.   Aberdeenshire

When asked, whether they thought meeting friends had made their holiday more enjoyable, 91% of those who had said they thought that was the case.

Chris Brown, co-founder of sunshine.co.uk, commented on the findings;

“Some people like to go on holiday and keep themselves to themselves, whilst others enjoy mingling and meeting new people. I think it’s great when you meet people on holiday that you get along with and to see that some were even planning to go away again with those very people they had met was quite a revelation!”

“Providing the people you meet don’t end up wanting to spend every minute of every day with you and your family, meeting new people with similar interests can add a new dimension to a holiday and can give you much more to talk about and a lot more to do!”

LINK http://www.sunshine.co.uk

ENDS

For more information, contact Shannon Haigh of 10 Yetis PR Agency on 01452 348211 or email [email protected]

Editors Notes

sunshine.co.uk is the UK’s leading online independent travel agent and was founded by Chris Brown and Chris Clarkson, the same people behind Holiday Watchdog which was bought by TripAdvisor in February 2008 for an undisclosed amount of money.

Chris Brown of sunshine.co.uk was a ‘Secret Millionaire’ in the series on Channel 4 that began in October 2010.

Sunshine.co.uk offers low cost holidays and budget flights to destinations all over the world as well as great deals and discounted hotels.

TravelMole recently voted sunshine.co.uk as the best Travel Agency in the 2010 web awards.

Each year the Carnival festivities throughout the world are amazing displays of colour and costumes set to joyful music. Algarve embraces this spirit and allows visitors to enjoy countless entertainment options along with beautiful weather to explore the coastline.

IMOCOM Hotels and Resorts and it´s five star resorts in the Algarve – Monte Santo in Carvoeiro and As Cascatas Golf Resort & Spa in Vilamoura, have prepared a 3 night package that embodies this endless celebration while offering the true comfort of luxurious accommodation.  The carnival package incorporates facilities the entire family can appreciate, including a welcome cocktail, a breakfast buffet, an early check-in and late check-out, complimentary access to the fitness equipment (gym, heated indoor pool, sauna, Turkish bath, tennis courts) and many other surprises.

To make the guest´s stay even more enjoyable As Cascatas Golf Resort & Spa offers complimentary access to the 7 Seven Spa Vilamoura social areas and Monte Santo offers a Masquerade dinner on the 15^th of February, in which the most original costume will be awarded a complimentary night stay on their next visit. Luxurious accommodation, amusement and culinary delights are but a few of the things IMOCOM Hotels and Resorts has prepared for this year´s Carnival, with rates as low as €59,50 per person/night at Monte Santo, and €88,50 per person/night at As Cascatas Golf Resort & Spa .

For more information and reservations please contact us by telephone +351 282 321 000 (Monte Santo), +351 289 304 900 (As Cascatas Golf Resort & Spa) or e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

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Editor´s Information

For more information please contact:

Jennifer Freire

PR & Communications Assistant

Tel.: +351 282 321 000 | Fax: +351 282 321 001

E-mail: [email protected]

Websites: www.ascascatasvilamoura.com | www.montesantoalgarve.com

Newly established social networking site, Buttas.com, has launched a revolutionary new system allowing users of its popular picture rating services to battle against other members.

You help to decide the winner of this Head 2 Head competition by picking who you think is the hotter of the two, the member you choose will receive points. You can even challenge or make friends with either user, and get Buttas points just for doing so!

This new system allows people to have friendly competition when it comes to rating pictures, with contests being launched every day as the site sees its registered users continue to rise rapidly. If you want to see if you’re hotter than your best friend or just want to see how people might rate you, this Head 2 Head competition is just for you, even if you might not get the result you were looking for.

If you’re a male or female, the new system will allow you to battle against other members to find out who is the Buttas King And Queen, with Buttas points allowing you to eventually rise higher in the rankings and claim prizes. Even if the results are not what you expect, you can still have fun and meet new people, and who knows where that might lead to!

Buttas.com is a fun social networking website where users interact, compete and discuss the latest celeb news and social topics with others through picture rating facilities, and a celebrity entertainment blog.

Buttas.com is the brainchild of David Bellgam, a recording artist/songwriter from South London. David claims the concept of the Buttas site was inspired by the Underground Garage hit record (also titled Buttas) he created along side former Streets Singer Leo’The lion’Ihenacho in 2003.

The song was also responsible for the creation of MC Gremlin who was voiced By David on the recording.Gremlin’s facial features were actually developed from a caricature of David’s face(he vehemently claims that his facial features were exaggerated and distorted and the use of hideous fake teeth were employed to achieve the legendary buttas-ness)