The United Kingdom has approximately 60 million inhabitants and is one of the major economies within the European Union though not part of the Euro-Zone. As the home country of one of the Worlds largest flag carriers it’s no surprise that outbound travel has been growing steadily with the number of visits abroad made by UK residents having more than trebled since 1985. Current economic events have lead to a 1% decline in visits abroad by UK residents for the year to the 31st October 2008 to 69.1 million. The UK was the home market for the initial growth of the low cost carrier outside North America and is therefore ranked number 2 in regard to its annual BSP volume. The British spend abroad is traditionally high with the latest figures showing a total spend of over £37 billion which is in the order of €40 billion at current exchange rates. Two-thirds of visits abroad were for holidays, just under half of which were package holidays. The most favourable destination for UK residents remains Europe with 80% of all visits abroad but this figure will decrease in 2009 due to the weakness of the pound sterling against the Euro.