Islamabad is one of a host of surprising destinations to be high on British travellers’ agendas, with the Pakistani capital more popular than Madrid, Ibiza and Berlin, according to new figures.

In figures released by Skyscanner, the flight comparison website, showing bookings made through the website so far this year, Manila, in the Philippines, ranks higher than Rome – and Colombo higher than Prague.

Manila is another surprisingly popular route Credit: Getty

In a comprehensive survey of where Britons are flying in 2017, from bookings up until September 11, Skyscanner has unearthed a few surprises.

The top 10 offers few shocks, with traditional cities welcoming the most British travellers, though that two of the top three are long-haul shows a healthy appetite for flying further afield.

The top 10 most popular destinations according to Skyscanner

Amsterdam New York Bangkok Dublin Dubai London Malaga Barcelona Alicante Paris

The appearance of London is an indication that a large number of people are booking internal flights from airports such as Edinburgh and Belfast. Malaga, Barcelona and Alicante creating a Spanish cluster in the top 10 is evidence of Britain's enduring love of holidaying in Spain.

More people booked flights to Amsterdam than anywhere else in the world, according to Skyscanner Credit: Getty

What are the most surprising destinations?

The Pakistani capital of Islamabad sits high up in 14th place, ahead of Orlando, Milan and Lisbon. This is likely because the UK has the second largest expat Pakistani community in the world, behind only Saudi Arabia, of more than a million people (rather than because travellers are taking holidays in the sprawling city).

Manila in the Philippines in 28th is higher than Copenhagen, Athens and Lanzarote. There are only about 200,000 Filipinos living in the UK, so much of this comes down to tourism in the region, which is rising.

Lagos, in Nigeria, in 31st, welcomes more bookings from the UK than Munich, Las Vegas and Budapest. The Foreign Office says around 170,000 British nationals visit Nigeria each year, and there are some 216,000 Nigerians living in the UK.

Which destination has the cheapest average fare?

Dublin, the fourth most popular destination, boasts the lowest average return fare, of £91.04, just ahead of Belfast (£91.90) and Glasgow (£102.79). Outside of the UK and Ireland, the cheapest destination is Berlin, at £103.01 return.

And the most expensive?

Sydney nosed out Auckland as the most expensive average return fare at £984.63, over Auckland’s £983.78. In third place is Melbourne, with an average return fare costing £928.20.

The full top 50