Sunburn Claims 2 Days of Sunshine for Holidaymakers

Our latest survey has revealed that sunburn claims 2 days of the average UK holidaymaker's sunshine when abroad, by forcing them to stay covered up or in the shade. One of the top excuses that people gave was that protective products, such as sun cream, were simply too expensive.

It would appear that holidays don't always go to plan, as we've found that the average holidaymaker loses out on 2 days of holiday sunshine due to sunburn and subsequently having to cover up or stay in the shade.

We carried out the research as part of an ongoing study into the holiday habits of people from around the UK. 2,117 UK adults took part in the study, all of whom had been on a holiday abroad in the past 12 months for at least one week. Respondents answered questions about their experience of sunburn and how, if at all, it affected their holiday.

61% of respondents admitted that they were sunburnt on their last holiday

When asked, 'Did you get sunburnt on your last holiday abroad?' 61% of the total respondents said 'yes'. These people were then asked how much of their holiday, if any, their sunburn affected; in terms of the days of sunshine they were forced to cover up in or hide in the shade.

72% of those felt that it had affected their break

According to our poll, the average sunburnt holidaymaker claimed to lose out on '2 days' worth of sunshine through having to cover up or find shade. The respondents who had been sunburnt on their last holiday abroad were asked if they felt it had affected their break in terms of day-to-day plans, to which 72% said 'yes'. If they answered 'yes', they were asked to select on a scale of 1-10 (1 being not very much and 10 being a lot) how badly this had affected their break.

The most common answer on a scale of 1-10 of how badly sunburn had affected their break was '7'

The most common answer given by respondents was '7'; that it affected their day-to-day plans 'a considerable amount'. All respondents who had been sunburnt on their last holiday were asked why they thought that was the case, to which the answers were as follows:

Forgot to re-apply 46%

Sun protection too expensive 31%

Didn't use high enough SPF 12%

Other 11%

Whilst buying sun cream can seem like it's making a pretty big dent in your bank account, it's definitely worth it when you think about the alternatives. Getting sunburnt can be horrendous, especially if you're in a hot country that doesn't cool down at night!

There are severe health risks associated with sunburn, so when it comes to choosing between those and buying sun cream, we think it's pretty obvious which you should go for!