A survey of 5,000 adults found they go abroad an average of once a year, reading an average of 2.3 books each time.
Favourite genres when enjoying some downtime away include mysteries (30 per cent) and thrillers (29 per cent), with men more avid holiday readers than women.
And those in Belfast and Brighton are the keenest to work their way through a paperback, with those in Leicester reading the least.
But 22 per cent of adults admit to changing it up and reading different types of books on holiday – with people in Birmingham, Cardiff and Newcastle most likely to expand their horizons.
However, Mancunians were found to be most likely to stick to what they know when it comes to genre choice, enjoying mysteries and thrillers most at home and away.
It also emerged that while 29 per cent would feel ashamed of being seen reading a romance book on public transport during their commute, 17 per cent are more confident about book choices when on holiday, reading subject matter they’d be too embarrassed to when at home.
And with romance novels being the nation’s ‘most guilty holiday reading pleasure’, it emerged readers in Wolverhampton, Liverpool and Bristol save them until they’re on the beach and far from the eyes of people who know them.
The perfect escape
A spokesperson for TUI BLUE, which commissioned the research and has launched a book swap scheme for guests in a number of its hotels, said: “Finding the time to relax is so important, and losing yourself in a book is the perfect way to escape and unwind.
“In day-to-day life it can be easy to get wrapped up in what you’re doing from minute to minute, and hard to make time to get stuck into a book.
“And when do you have more quality time to unwind than on holiday?
“Whether
