A new piece of research by a UK based online travel agency has revealed what British people would rather give up for the rest of their lives than to miss out on a holiday. Some of the things they would give up included their sex lives, their best friends, and carbohydrates, so long as they would continue to have a regular vacation. The research also demonstrated that 91% of British people admitted that they simply couldn’t imagine what life would be like without holidays.

A new piece of research by a UK based Online Travel Agency has demonstrated just how important holidays are to British people. They completed a survey that asked people what they would give up in their lives in return to holidays, focusing on specific areas of the average person’s life, including technology, social relationships, and food. It was revealed through the research that British people would prefer to give up their phone for life than to never go on Holiday again.

The online travel agency, Sunshine.co.uk, has been researching the holiday habits of British people in a piece of ongoing research. For this latest element, they wanted to find out how much importance people place on their holidays. They polled 2,936 British people, all of whom were at least 18 and from a cross geographical section of the country. The survey was anonymous, thereby encouraging people to be completely honest in their answers. Questions were asked to determine what people would be willing to give up for the rest of their life, and what they couldn’t live without.

Participants in the study were first presented with a list and were asked which items they would be willing to give up for the rest of their lives if it meant being able to go on holiday. From the responses, the team at Sunshine was able to compile the following list of 10 items that people would be willing to give up for life in return for holidays:

1. 91% of people would give up carbohydrates.
2. 72% of people would give up sex.
3. 52% of people would give up their best friend.
4. 51% of people would give up their mobile phone.
5. 45% of people would give up the internet.
6. 43% of people would give up their career.
7. 39% of people would give up alcohol.
8. 27% of people would give up their driving license.
9. 15% of people would give up their relationship.
10. 13% of people would give up their television.

The research suggests that people would be happier to give up their best friend than to give up their mobiles, the internet, alcohol, or televisions. It also showed that people place a great deal of importance on going on holiday.

All respondents were also asked the question ‘Can you imagine your life without any holidays in it?’ A whopping 91% of people said ‘no’ in answer to this question.

A further 78% of participants said that they would go on an abroad holiday at least once per year. Additionally, 63% stated that, if they didn’t have a holiday to look forward to, they felt ‘miserable’.

Chris Clarkson, Managing Director of sunshine.co.uk, said the following:

“Holidays are a big part of people’s lives and having one to look forward to is, without a doubt, one of the best feelings. However, I was really surprised at just how many people said they’d rather give up their best friend, their relationship or their career for the rest of their lives than holidays!

“Personally, I can’t imagine going the rest of my life without another holiday abroad; it’d just be too sad an existence! However, I’m not so sure I’d be able to give up many of the things in the top 10 either… this is a tough one!”