Millions of UK holidaymakers have chosen a destination based on a book they’ve read,

Millions of holidaymakers have chosen a destination based on a book they’ve read, with ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’ by Frances Mayes the top inspiration. 

A study of 2,000 adults by Jet2holidays, undertaken to celebrate World Book Day - today, 7th March, found one in four have booked a holiday in order to visit a location referenced in a novel. 

Venice (‘The Thief Lord’ by Cornelia Funke), Barcelona (‘The Shadow of the Wind’ by Carlos Ruiz Zafon), Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (Kefalonia) and Paris (‘Les Misérables’ by Victor Hugo) are among the most popular. 

Others long to visit Rome thanks to ‘Angels and Demons’ by Dan Brown and Corfu which features in ‘The Corfu Trilogy’ by Gerald Durrell. 

The research also unveiled that 35 per cent have been influenced by TV shows, with Iceland, Spain, and Italy among the top countries to visit after seeing it on screen. 

A spokesperson for Jet2holidays, said: “A lot of holiday inspiration naturally comes from watching films or TV shows. But we were surprised to see how many have had the urge to travel somewhere based on a book they have read – which has no visual representation of the country or city it is set in. 

“Sometimes it’s difficult deciding on where to go for your next trip, so it’s nice knowing that books aren’t just good for unwinding and enjoying some much-needed downtime, but also for holiday help too.” 

Reasons for visiting a place they read about in a novel include wanting to see what it looked like in real life (46 per cent), learning more about the area (32 per cent) and to tick it off their bucket list (15 per cent). 

But 62 per cent of those who have made a trip were pleasantly surprised to find their book-inspired destination was better than expected. 

Once there, half explored landmarks or attractions which were mentioned in the novel, while 25 per cent stayed in accommodation featured in the non-fiction tale. 

Photo by Chris Unger on Unsplash

And 27 per cent even signed up to a professional guided tour of some of the destinations they read about, according to the OnePoll.com data. 

It also emerged those who have enjoyed a holiday after reading about it in a book have made an average of three novel-related trips, with 15 per cent booking it the trip day after they had finished reading it. 

While 17 per cent have a list of an average of five places they’d like to visit in the future based on finished novels. 

The spokesperson for Jet2holidays added: “This World Book Day, we hope this research has inspired people to visit their local bookshop and purchase a novel which could well be the setting for their next holiday. 

“There are so many beautiful places to visit in the world which makes it hard to narrow down, so hopefully this has given the nation some motivation to start thinking about where they might next travel to – and they may possibly have a book to thank.”  

The top 30 books which have most inspired people to travel:   

• "Under the Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes (Tuscany) 
• "My Family and Other Animals" by Gerald Durrell (Corfu) 
• "The Corfu Trilogy" by Gerald Durrell (Corfu) 
• "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown (Paris) 
• "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown (Rome) 
• "The Merchant of Venice" by William Shakespeare (Venice) 
• "Death in Venice" by Thomas Mann (Venice) 
• "A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle (Provence) 
• “The Durrells of Corfu” by Michael Haag (Corfu) 
• "Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo (Paris) 
• "Captain Corelli’s Mandolin" by Louis de Bernières (Kefalonia) ) 
• "Heidi" by Johanna Spyri (captures the essence of the Swiss Alps) (Switzerland) 
• "The Birth of Venus" by Sarah Dunant (Florence) 
• "Homage to Catalonia" by George Orwell (Catalonia) 
• "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Barcelona) 
• “Beautiful Ruins” by Jess Walter (Italy) 
• "The Sound of Music" by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse (Austria) 
• "I, Claudius" by Robert Graves (Rome) 
• "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr (Paris) 
• "Prospero's Cell" by Lawrence Durrell (Corfu) 
• "A Game of Thrones" by George R. R. Martin (inspired by) (Croatia) 
• "Brunelleschi's Dome" by Ross King (Florence) 
• "On Her Majesty’s Secret Service" by Ian Fleming (Switzerland) 
• "The Third Man" by Graham Greene (Austria) 
• "The City of Marvels" by Eduardo Mendoza (Barcelona) 
• "The French Riviera: A Literary Guide for Travellers" by Ted Jones (French Riviera) 
• "The Snowman" by Jo Nesbø (Norway) 
• "Night Train to Lisbon" by Peter Bieri (Lisbon) 
• "The Provence Trilogy" by Peter Mayle (Provence) 
• "Roman Fever" by Edith Wharton (Rome)