ADULTS who travel for Christmas will rack up more than 700 miles over the festive period.
A poll of 2,000 adults who celebrate the holiday found the merry mileage is made up of 43 miles for present shopping trips and around 122 miles to visit family.
And an average of almost 50 miles is accounted for with trips to admire Christmas lights.
Visits to Christmas markets see around 44 miles covered, with nearly 61 miles travelled during excursions to the theatre.
It also emerged 19 per cent reckon they cover more miles across the UK in December than they do at any other time of year.
The research was commissioned by coach operator, Megabus, to mark the launch of its ‘Coaching Home for Christmas’ campaign to encourage passengers to get ahead of the last-minute booking rush.
It was revealed London, Glasgow and Bristol are the anticipated Christmas hotspot destinations based on internal data.
And Christmas Eve was also revealed as the most popular day to travel as almost a fifth of respondents (17 per cent) make their journeys just before the ‘big day’ itself.
Tony Simmons, regional director for the brand, said: “It’s fascinating to see how much road we cover as a nation over the Christmas period.
“We see more than one million miles travelled across our network in the month of December alone.
“When it comes to the environmental impact, coaches can’t be rivalled as travelling by this mode of transport emits 33.8g of CO2 per person per kilometre – the least of any major transport option, and a 16 per cent decrease over a diesel car.
“So passengers can be safe in the knowledge that they’re lessening the impact on the environment whilst enjoying their festive journeys this Christmas.”
The study also found the average adult will spend more than 50 hours – the equivalent of more than two whole days – seeing extended family and friends throughout November and December.
And 31 per cent will generously give up an average of 17 hours of their time volunteering this Christmas period.
Other popular reasons for travelling include trips to see the Christmas lights (66 per cent), going to Christmas markets (52 per cent) and trips to the theatre (49 per cent).
But with 68 per cent typically travelling with their partner and 44 per cent with their kids, the journeys are not always seamless, as 23 per cent of festive car journeys lead to squabbles with fellow passengers.
The research, conducted via OnePoll, also found 12 per cent prefer to travel on public transport during the Christmas period than at other times of the year – with a fifth of these claiming passengers are noticeably friendlier.
To get into the spirit, 13 per cent of those using public transport create a festive playlist, while others tuck into boxes of chocolate, mince pies and leftover Christmas dinner sandwiches.
Megabus’ Tony Simmons, whose data predicts December 22, 24 and 26 will be the busiest days to travel, added: “We’re delighted to play a role in connecting people across the UK by making their journeys part of their Christmas activities, whatever their reasons to travel this festive season.”
1. Chocolate selection boxes (31 per cent)
2. Hot chocolate (29 per cent)
3. Mince pies (28 per cent)
4. Festive bakes e.g. sausage rolls (27 per cent)
5. Mini pigs in blankets (24 per cent)
6. Chocolate coins (24 per cent)
7. Christmas dinner leftover sandwich (23 per cent)
8. Turkey and stuffing sandwich (21 per cent)
9. Chocolate yule log (19 per cent)
10. Gingerbread person (16 per cent)
Travelling home for Christmas – 107
Pre-Christmas meet ups with family – 69
Theatre trips – 61
Christmas day with friends – 59
Christmas day with family – 54
Pre-Christmas meet ups with friends – 52
Trips to Christmas lights – 50
Christmas market tours – 44
Present shopping – 43
Santa’s grotto visits – 32
Work events/meetings – 30
Work Christmas parties – 29
Charity fun runs – 29
Festive volunteering – 27
Food/supermarket shopping – 20
