IRISH PEOPLE WHO find time to get away over the festive period spend on average €441 per three to four day trip to the likes of Barcelona, New York and Amsterdam according to new figures.

According to an analysis of booking data from lastminute.com, European holidaymakers spend on average €444 per person on short breaks over Christmas and New Year with most heading abroad.

Despite the recession, the Irish will spend on average €441 on three or four day breaks per person for flights and hotels with the more thrifty Germans spending €329. 

The French are the biggest spenders, forking out €572 on average for breaks over Christmas and New Year.

Top destinations for Irish people include Barcelona, Amsterdam and New York over Christmas while those thinking of a New Year getaway plump for Barcelona, Edinburgh and Amsterdam.

Eva Bojtos, from lastminute.com’s UK and Ireland operation, speculated the reasons for Irish still spending money on short trips abroad: ”Perhaps it’s a way of treating themselves because they’re working harder or maybe there’s more family living abroad to visit.”

“Interesting too that the Irish still have a fondness for New York. Despite some budgets stretching to a New York trip, we’re acutely aware that many have much smaller budgets, hence our constant focus on good value deals to suit every pocket.”

When it comes to planning ahead the Germans and French leave it late, booking less than a month before they jet off where as in Ireland, we book almost two months in advance on average.