* THIS INTERVIEW WITH WILL FIRST APPEARED IN ‘THE DAILY MAIL’ *

‘We believe that the rise in holidays with friends is being driven by another trend,” says futurist William Higham. “The increasing importance of friendship. Today, more and more people have a close group of friends that they consider to be a surrogate family (a ‘Framily’). The emotional support of friends typically becomes more important in times of either economic downturn or rapid social and political change. Consumers are scared of what is to come and seek the support of community. Both of these factors are taking place at the moment, making it doubly important.”

Twenty-three per cent of holidaymakers admit they ‘get up to no good’ while on holidays away from their partners, 40 per cent of whom admit they actually cheat on their loved ones. According to a revealing study by travel agency Thomas Cook the two naughtiest age groups when travelling are the 18-24-year-olds (34 per cent) and the 35-44 year-olds (27 per cent).

Other activities respondents didn’t want to share with their partners included being too drunk (40 per cent), nudity-related pursuits (29 per cent) and spending way too much while they’re away (14 per cent). However, more than two-thirds of those questioned would at least share with their other half an edited version of events.

Despite these figures, a third of those questioned actually believed a break away with a close friend helped make a relationship stronger or even saved their marriage.
And a romantic 40 per cent said they missed their other half while away.
The research, conducted among 2,000 Brits and released on International Friendship Day, also shows that nearly half of us take at least one break away with friends (42 per cent) either abroad or in the UK every year.

Futurologist William Higham, from Next Big Thing, who worked on the research with Thomas Cook, explains how the occasional escape with friends can help our relationships.
He said: ‘The more complicated our lives get, the more we focus on “who we are” and the more we compartmentalise our lives, the greater number of different friendship groups we have. ‘The more this happens, the less our partners are able to fulfil all our needs and the more we feel trapped unless we have occasional time when we can indulge this or that side of our personality.’

‘Meanwhile, consumers’ loss of trust in major institutions (from banks to governments), their inability to influence events (economic, social and political), and the increasing dominance of technology in their lives is making them care more about those things which are tangible, trustworthy and human, such as interaction with friends.’

According to Thomas Cook the most popular holiday with friends is a city sightseeing break (17 per cent) or a relax on the beach (15 per cent), with an average annual spend of £307 for those in a couple and £560 for singles.
The average annual spend for holidays with a partner and excluding the kids is £938.

Peter Fankhauser, Chief Operating Officer of Thomas Cook Group said: ‘As the results of this survey show, the popularity of friendship breaks alongside more traditional family and couples holidays is set to rise even further, so it is more essential than ever that we continue to innovate to provide a broad and flexible offering, whatever, whenever and wherever our customers choose to travel.’

VIEW ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2709838/A-QUARTER-Britons-no-good-holidays-friends-40-cheat-partners.html#ixzz45c2UmpUm