Nearly five million British tourists plan to take long-haul mini-breaks during 2008, according to a survey by Halifax Travel Insurance, despite calls to curb unnecessary air travel on environmental grounds.

The trend represents an increase of more than 35 per cent on 2007, when more than 3.7 million holidaymakers flew over 5.5 billion miles long haul to take a break lasting less than one week.

The US topped the list of popular long-haul short-break destinations in 2007, boosted by the strength of the pound against the dollar, with 1.9 million Britons crossing the Atlantic for a quick break last year.

The Far East proved to be the second most popular destination attracting more than half a million short-break visitors, followed by the Indian subcontinent which accounted for 226,000 visitors.

A third of travellers surveyed cited rising levels of comfort and better in-flight entertainment as the most important factor behind their increased willingness to spend long periods in the air for a relatively short holiday.

A desire for increasingly exotic stag-night, hen-night and wedding locations was reason enough for 17 per cent to spend seven or more hours in the air, while one in ten said uncooperative employers preventing them ‘carrying over’ their annual holiday lay behind their decision to take a shorter break.

More than half a million over-65s plan to take a long-haul mini-break in 2008, proving it is not just time-poor professionals who are happy to brave jet lag for a flying visit.

“Better airline quality, the lure of winter sun, favourable exchange rates and cheaper long haul flights have created a boom in demand for long-haul mini-breaks, with millions of us enduring long flights for a weekend break on the other side of the globe,” said Paul Birkhead, senior manager of pricing and underwriting at Halifax Travel Insurance.