So, the location of Switzerland was a mystery to 45% of respondents, 15% of tourists could not find Spain, 11% France, and 8% Italy. At the same time, as Travel.ru notes, these are the most popular holiday destinations for residents of Foggy Albion.
The situation is no better with individual resorts. 81% of Britons do not know where Costa Brava is located, 63% Costa del Sol, 53% Algarve, 37% Ibiza, and 28% could not find Normandy on the map, reports Travel Daily News.
This is not surprising: 62% of British tourists admitted that when choosing a holiday destination, they do not look at a map. Moreover, 16% of tourists (about 7 million people) could not even remember the last time they looked at any map. 8% (4 million people) last saw a map while helping their child with homework, and 4% admitted that their last encounter with a map was during their own childhood geography lessons.
British tourists also do not know the number of European countries. The most common answer was '30' (whereas there are 47); over 11% of Britons were sure that Iceland is not in Europe but somewhere in North America, and 13% placed Moldova 'somewhere in Asia, South America, or Africa'.
The most mysterious countries for residents of Foggy Albion are Lithuania (unknown to 81% of British tourists), Slovakia (80%), Romania (78%), Ukraine (71%), and Croatia (71%).