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Freezing country with pricey beer overtakes Spanish hotspots as Brits' favoured holiday destination

As temperatures rise globally, there's a trend rising along with it - people are seeking out cooler places to spend their summer holidays, eschewing Spain for places where the beer is pricier, but the temperatures are cooler.

[A view of Reykjavik]

Cooler countries are seeing a surge in online interest(Image: Getty Images)

Brits are ditching the sunny shores of Spain for the wintery peaks of Iceland in what experts are calling a trend towards coolcations.

In a change from the traditional sunny summer holidays, Iceland has experienced a massive hike in popularity over the last few months with a 23.30% increase in interest online. Over the summer temperatures in Iceland rarely climb higher than 25 degrees Celsius, and can drop as low as 5 degrees!

At the same time Spanish hotspots usually beloved by holidaying Brits are seeing less interest, possibly due to scorching hot recent summers that have made relaxing on the beach impossible for much of the day.

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Other destinations are also becoming less desirable as Iceland enjoys its creep up the travel ladder. Seville in Spain saw the biggest drop in interest with a dip of more than 30% in searches, while Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Barcelona have all seen significant double digital drops in online intrigue.

Usually, Seville sees more than three million tourists a year, making it one of the most visited places in all of Spain.

If youre popping over to Iceland expecting prices like Majorca, youll leave with your pockets hurting - beer is famously pricey in this Nordic nation, running you about 8 a pint - worse than London prices.

Despite the painful costs, its not hard to see why Brits might want to ditch the familiar scenes of Spain and Italy for its wild and alien landscapes.

Sweeping mountains, volcanoes that belch fire and ash into the sky and jaw dropping blue lakes are all features of Icelands incredible landscape. Nestled on a rift between two tectonic plates, there are frequent geysers and eruptions - perfect for the thrill seekers among us.

[Blue Lagoon, Iceland - January 27, 2017: View of the Blue Lagoon pool at dusk with lots of tourists bathing in Blue Lagoon, Iceland on January 27, 2017.]

The Blue Lagoon in Iceland is a popular tourist destination (Image: Getty Images)

Its not hard to see why Brits are turning to 'coolcations' in places like Iceland - with temperatures rising every year, summer vacations in traditionally warmer countries are becoming more and more difficult to handle, especially if you dont cope well with heat.

Will Bolsover the founder and CEO of Natural World Safaris says hes certainly noticed the trend.

Summers are becoming unbearably uncomfortable for many travellers. While people would usually flock to warmer climates or stay home if the weather was good, theyre now looking to hide from the rising temperatures and holiday in much colder climates. Not only do colder climates offer a more comfortable holiday, but they also tend to be quiet in the summer months making the holiday cheaper and calmer, he said.

At Natural World Safaris weve seen an increase in clients looking for colder summer holidays with Norway, Svalbard, Alaska and Canada becoming some of our top destinations.

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