Travellers are planning cheaper and shorter holidays in 2009, it was revealed today.

But despite the economic gloom, the average number of holidays likely to be taken is set to increase from 1.5 in 2008, to 1.8 next year, a survey by travelsupermarket.com found.

As many as 18% of the 2,037 people polled said they would be looking for cheaper holidays, while 11% planned just the one short break. But 28% said they would not be making any changes to their annual leave.

The survey also showed that an increasing number of people planned to take short holidays in Britain, while other popular spots included Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Thailand and Iceland.

Bob Atkinson, of travelsupermarket.com, said: “Holidays are seen by many as a necessity rather than luxury, so it’s not surprising that people are still planning to go away. However, the type of holidays people will take and the destinations they will visit over the coming year are changing quite dramatically.

“There is a growing trend for short breaks in the UK, with short haul European breaks destined to be the main casualty of the current economic climate,” he said.

“At a time that European resorts are seeing some of the best snow fall in years, demand for ski holidays — often seen as an additional break — is also down this season. So for those planning time on the slopes tour operators have some fantastic deals around.

“And for those looking to peg their holiday price, all inclusive holidays will continue their rise in popularity.”

He went on: “With the current weakness of the pound against several key currencies, consumers will be paying a lot more attention to what’s going on with exchange rates while planning their holidays.

“For example, with the strength of the euro, destinations outside the eurozone are seeing huge growth.

“Places such as Turkey, Bulgaria, Egypt and other North African countries such as Morrocco and Tunisia are high on the holiday agenda for 2009,” Mr Atkinson added.