Going on holiday alone is not such a big deal these days it seems, with nearly a quarter of people saying they travel abroad by themselves. This is a sharp increase over the previous year, which showed only nine per cent of travellers were prepared to go it alone. The top reasons given for flying solo included 'looking for love' and 'to rediscover' themselves, but one in five solo holiday-makers confessed they simply 'had no one to go with'. Scroll down for video . A jetty of my own: The number of people choosing to go on holiday by themselves has risen, new figures show . Ongoing research into the holiday preferences of Britons also showed that 76 per cent of respondents had never been on holiday by themselves. The new research was carried out by UK online travel agency www.sunshine.co.uk to keep track of booking trends and patterns, and quizzed nearly 2,000 people aged 18 from the UK. Respondents who had been on a holiday abroad alone were asked to disclose all the reasons why they had had travelled by themselves, and the highest number said they were looking for love. 'To re-discover myself' was the next most popular answer, while a confident 24 per cent admitted they preferred their own company - and 19 per cent said they had no one to go with. 'What is this life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?' Going solo is something more people will do . 1. Looking for love                                  31% . 2. To rediscover myself                           26% . 3. I like my own company                         24% . 4. No one else to go with                         19% . 5. My usual holiday buddies couldn't go  17% . As for location, Spain came out tops as the most popular place to go solo at 25 per cent, closely followed by Australia at 23 per cent. Thailand (18 per cent), Greece (14 per cent) and France (11 per cent) were the next most common places for solo travellers to have visited. 'Although flying with others is usually favoured by most due to being able to share holiday memories, there is no shame in holidaying alone,' said sunshine.co.uk managing director Chris Clarkson. 'Whilst many choose to go travelling abroad on a soul-finding mission, perhaps to Thailand or Australia, a solo holiday can be a chance to relax and have some time to yourself.' When asked about the possibility of travelling alone if they hadn't previously, a majority of 67 per cent said they would, whilst the remaining 33 per cent  stated that they would never go abroad alone.
Marked increase in the number of people going abroad alone .
Two thirds said they would consider going abroad alone in the future .
Spain was the most popular country for solo travellers .
Going on holiday alone is not such a big deal these days it seems, with nearly a quarter of people saying they travel abroad by themselves. This is a sharp increase over the previous year, which showed only nine per cent of travellers were prepared to go it alone. The top reasons given for flying solo included 'looking for love' and 'to rediscover' themselves, but one in five solo holiday-makers confessed they simply 'had no one to go with'. Scroll down for video . A jetty of my own: The number of people choosing to go on holiday by themselves has risen, new figures show . Ongoing research into the holiday preferences of Britons also showed that 76 per cent of respondents had never been on holiday by themselves. The new research was carried out by UK online travel agency www.sunshine.co.uk to keep track of booking trends and patterns, and quizzed nearly 2,000 people aged 18 from the UK. Respondents who had been on a holiday abroad alone were asked to disclose all the reasons why they had had travelled by themselves, and the highest number said they were looking for love. 'To re-discover myself' was the next most popular answer, while a confident 24 per cent admitted they preferred their own company - and 19 per cent said they had no one to go with. 'What is this life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?' Going solo is something more people will do . 1. Looking for love 31% . 2. To rediscover myself                           26% . 3. I like my own company                         24% . 4. No one else to go with 19% . 5. My usual holiday buddies couldn't go 17% . As for location, Spain came out tops as the most popular place to go solo at 25 per cent, closely followed by Australia at 23 per cent. Thailand (18 per cent), Greece (14 per cent) and France (11 per cent) were the next most common places for solo travellers to have visited. 'Although flying with others is usually favoured by most due to being able to share holiday memories, there is no shame in holidaying alone,' said sunshine.co.uk managing director Chris Clarkson. 'Whilst many choose to go travelling abroad on a soul-finding mission, perhaps to Thailand or Australia, a solo holiday can be a chance to relax and have some time to yourself.' When asked about the possibility of travelling alone if they hadn't previously, a majority of 67 per cent said they would, whilst the remaining 33 per cent  stated that they would never go abroad alone.
of my own: The number of people choosing to go on 'To re-discover myself' was the next most popular places for solo travellers to have visited. per cent said they would, whilst the remaining 33 alone.