It's a Small World! What are the Odds of Bumping into Someone on Holiday?
It's a Small World! What are the Odds of Bumping into Someone on Holiday?
When it comes to Brits on holiday, we often like our creature comforts: plenty of sunshine, a nice all you can eat breakfast, a dip in the pool. But what about running into friends while you're on your summer break?
While staycationers may expect to see a friendly face or two on their holidays, the chances of the same thing happening when you go abroad may surprise you!
So, what are the chances of bumping into a friendly face while you're on your summer break?
To answer this question we polled 1,000 people to find out where they're heading on their hols this year, using the data to work out the odds of you running into someone you know while sunning yourself.
What are the top holiday destinations for 2024?
First of all, we wanted to find out the holiday destinations everyone is heading to this year. So, if you haven't yet booked your getaway, these are the trending places to be.
Top ten international holiday destinations this year:
- Mainland Greece or Greek Islands
- Barcelona
- Paris
- Rome
- New York City
- Algarve
- Tenerife
- Mallorca
- Other Canary Islands
- Antalya & surrounding areas
The top ten domestic holiday destinations this year:
- London
- Cornwall
- York
- Edinburgh
- Wales - Pembrokeshire
- North Yorkshire coast (Whitby/Scarborough/Filey and other surrounding areas)
- Scottish Highlands or Borders
- Manchester
- Brighton
- Liverpool
With its stunning white buildings and clear blue seas, Greece and its surrounding islands take the top spot for international destinations. City break hotspots Barcelona, Paris and Rome follow closely behind.
Closer to home people are heading to the Capital this summer. With its landmarks, history, scenery and culture, London has so much to offer for a staycation. For those wanting a slice of the UK coast, Cornwall also ranked highly on our list.
Considering all destinations worldwide, we found the most popular destinations are:
- London
- Mainland Greece or Greek Islands
- Barcelona
- Paris
- Cornwall
- Rome
- York
- Edinburgh
- Wales - Pembrokeshire
- New York City
Where are you most likely to see a familiar face?
Are you heading to one of the top ten locations this summer? As the saying goes: it's a small world, so depending where you come from, it could be worth preparing to see someone you know while you're on your summer break.
We crunched the numbers and found which city's residents are most likely to bump into someone they know on holiday in the top ten most popular locations.
Destination | Residents | Likelihood |
|---|---|---|
| London | Belfast | 9.96% |
| Wales - Pembrokeshire | Cardiff | 9.20% |
| Mainland Greece or Greek Islands | Norwich | 7.96% |
| York | Newcastle | 7.84% |
| Cornwall | Cardiff | 7.38% |
| Barcelona | Norwich | 6.35% |
| Paris | Edinburgh | 6.12% |
| Rome | Glasgow | 5.95% |
| Edinburgh | Glasgow | 5.95% |
| New York City | Cardiff | 5.59% |
The highest likelihood of running into someone you know comes from those heading to London from Belfast, as there's almost a one in ten (9.96%) chance they'll find someone they know while they're there.
Internationally, it's the luck of the Irish again. Those heading to Tenerife from Belfast have a 7.76% chance of bumping into a friendly face - more than any other international city/destination combination.
For the staycationers
Holidaying at home is a trend that isn't going away, if anything it's growing in popularity. If you're holidaying closer to home this year and you're from any of the below cities, prepare yourself for company:
Destination | Residents | Likelihood |
|---|---|---|
| London | Belfast | 9.96% |
| Scottish Highlands or Borders | Edinburgh | 9.68% |
| Wales - Pembrokeshire | Cardiff | 9.20% |
| North Yorkshire coast (Whitby/Scarborough/Filey and other surrounding areas) | Newcastle | 8.81% |
| York | Newcastle | 7.84% |
| Cornwall | Cardiff | 7.38% |
| Edinburgh | Glasgow | 7.29% |
| Brighton | London | 5.05% |
| Manchester | Liverpool | 5.01% |
| Liverpool | Manchester | 4.38% |
In summary…
Whether you're keen on the idea of running into friends on holiday or you'd rather your holiday was an escape from daily life, it can be interesting to know what the odds are.
All in all, while the chances of bumping into friends, colleagues or neighbours are small, they're certainly not non-existent! According to our data, depending where you're from and where you're going, in some cases there's a good chance you'll run into someone you know (whether you want to or not!).
To make sure youire armed with the numbers, these are the locations where youire most likely to bump into someone you know:
Destination | Percentage Chance |
|---|---|
| Mainland Greece or Greek Islands | 10.46% |
| Barcelona | 9.80% |
| Paris | 8.83% |
| Rome | 7.92% |
| New York City | 7.61% |
| Algarve | 7.12% |
| Tenerife | 6.44% |
| Mallorca | 6.24% |
| Other Canary Islands | 6.24% |
| Antalya & surrounding areas | 5.40% |
| Florida | 4.98% |
| Orlando | 4.98% |
| Dubai | 4.08% |
| Ibiza | 3.73% |
| Benidorm | 3.71% |
| Sharm El-Sheikh | 2.49% |
Wherever you're off to this year and whether or not you happen to cross paths with friends, we hope you have an amazing holiday. If you're not jetting off this year, why not play our Fun on the Seafront slot game to embrace that summer feeling from the comfort of your own home.
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Methodology
- Highest Likelihood rationale: In a nutshell for the highest likelihood statistics, the percentage represents the proportion of holiday days for that destination against the total holiday days of people from that city i.e. people from Belfast going to London is 9.96% - this means of all the days that people spend on holiday from Belfast - roughly 10% of those days will be spent in London
- We then converted the question which asks 'how long are you planning to stay', into a stand alone figure- it was then multiplied by the count of respondents who answered each destination and living city combination
- Disclaimer: There is an assumption that people from the same city know each other - but by utilising favoured destinations and time spent there in 2024, we can make estimated projections - survey carried out: Prolific of 1,008 respondents on 31st July 2024