Some 30 percent of the 1,281 people questioned by the GfK institute in March said they had not yet planned their holidays.

But a large majority, 60 percent, said they had not altered their plans.

The war on Iraq led seven percent of Danes to change their vacation destination, and of those, half decided to stay at home.

The outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Virus (SARS) has dissuaded three percent from traveling to Asia, the region worst hit by the virus.

Most Danes said they would classify the Middle East as the most dangerous region to visit because of the risk of terrorist acts and the war on Iraq.

More than 50 percent said they considered North Africa and Turkey as high-risk regions, with 57 percent saying Turkish destinations were not safe due to their proximity to neighbouring Iraq.

Women took a more cautious approach to travel than men, with 87 percent taking safety into consideration in their choice of destination compared to 75 percent of men, the study showed.

Danes over the age of 15 took some 3.1 million holiday trips abroad in 2001, counted as a minimum of four nights abroad, according to recent statistics, a figure considered high given that the total number of Danes over the age of 15 is 4,357,000 personnes.

SPACE.WIRE