Switzerland and Austria top mountain destinations

As travellers look for increasingly exciting holidays, Switzerland and Austria are tipped to be the hottest destinations for those taking mountain holidays in 2008, according to new research.

More than 17.2 million Brits travelled abroad last year, according to the Office of National Statistics and this number looks set to increase.

While old favourites in Europe, such as Amsterdam and Barcelona, have stayed popular, new European hot spots are cropping up, such as Latvia and Poland, many of which are within driving distance from cross channel ferry ports.

Commenting on the research, a spokeswoman from lastmminute.com said: "We are expecting Egypt and Italy to carry on doing very well, and summer and winter mountain destinations such as Switzerland and Austria should also perform well."

These ski destinations have had excellent snowfall this year, and many have opened early. And skiers have responded by booking up a great number of breaks, taking advantage of great deals after last year's disappointing snowfall pushed prices down for this year.