British travelers showed their preference for Greece for their summer vacations this year, with the Baby Boomers and Gen Zs generations ranking it in the top five of their favorite destinations, according to YouGov’s Destination Index.
The Destination Index identifies the most popular tourist destinations in the British tourism market at the end of summer 2025 based on impression metrics collected from June 21, 2024, to September 22, 2025, compared to the same period in 2025.
Greece’s preference by the British and this summer
According to the findings, Greece was the top-ranked travel destination among British travelers (by generation), ranking second among Baby Boomers and fifth among Gen Zs.
It also ranked fifth among destinations that saw the greatest improvement in the summer of 2025 compared to the summer of 2024, and tenth among the best destinations based on impressions ratings at the end of the summer of 2025.
Italy is the first choice
Italy was voted the best travel destination by the British public until the end of summer 2025.
With an impression score of 56.6, it narrowly edged out the (usually colder) country of Canada (54.2) and was slightly ahead of Norway, which came in third (52.7).
The top five were completed by the countries of the Iberian Peninsula – Portugal (50.8) and Spain (49.9) – which have long been favorite vacation destinations for British travelers.
Saudi Arabia is the destination with the biggest improvement in the summer of 2025
In the list of travel destinations that showed the greatest improvement this summer, compared to the summer of 2024, Saudi Arabia is in first place, with a 3.9 increase. The overall image for the Gulf state remains negative (-28.9) – perhaps due to its controversial status – but UN reports suggest that the country’s tourism revenue has increased this year.
The overview is similar for China, which is generally disliked (-17.9) as a destination, but it saw a 3.5 increase in impression scores. Recent reports suggest that the visa waiver policy may have led to these improvements.
Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, came in third, with a 2.7 increase, compared to the summer of 2025, although its scores were already positive (11.5).
Poland (which was presented as an interesting cultural and historical destination in the Oscar-nominated film A Real Pain earlier this year) had the same performance as Greece (+2.7).
In the second half of the ranking, Abu Dhabi (+2.5), Australia (+1.8), Denmark (+1.7), Brazil (+1.7), and Norway (+1.7) were found.
Destinations with the best summer per generation
The countries that saw the greatest increase in popularity during the summer of 2025 differ significantly depending on the generation.
Among Gen Z, Norway (+12.2) saw the largest increase compared to summer 2024 and, with a score of 59.1, is now the destination with the highest score among this group in terms of overall impression.
Norway is experiencing a significant increase in tourism, prompting the country’s government to introduce a 3% tourist tax.
With Denmark (+9.9) and Sweden (+6.4) in second and third place, the top five destinations for Gen Z are dominated by Scandinavian countries, with Las Vegas (+6.1) and Greece (+6) in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Among Millennials, Saudi Arabia saw the largest increase in the score compared to the summer of 2024 (+7.7), with Japan (+6.7), Poland (+4.9), Australia (+4.0), and Canada (+3.8) being the other destinations with the largest improvement on our list.
For Gen X consumers, China saw the largest increase (+6.1), followed by Hong Kong (+4.9), Saudi Arabia (+4.1), Abu Dhabi (+3.8), and Brazil (+3.3).
Poland was the destination with the largest improvement among Baby Boomers (+7.7), followed by Greece (+6.5), Italy (+4.5), Canada (+4.4), and Australia (+4.3).
