CHESTER, England, June 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

• Rise of British men tanning, dieting and taking hair straighteners on holiday
• 33 per cent uplift in searches to LA since Mark Wright's new show aired

British men are embracing their metrosexual side and packing hair dryers, straighteners and even opting for pre-holiday spray-tans, according to new research from comparison website MoneySupermarket.

The research has revealed that a quarter of British men* (23 per cent) are now hitting the gym in advance of their summer holiday to get a 'beach-body', whilst a further one in five (19 per cent) are going on diets to try and achieve that washboard-stomach.

One factor in this rise in "Met-Setters" (metrosexual jetsetters) could be the effect of popular television series The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE), featuring plucked and preened charmers such as Mark Wright and Joey Essex. Mark can currently be seen topless, tanned and strutting his stuff across various West-Coast US beach locations in his new show 'Mark Wright's Hollywood Nights' currently on ITV2. And it would seem Brits are keen to imitate Mark in more ways than one - MoneySupermarket's sister website TravelSupermarket.com has seen flight searches to Los Angeles increase by 33 per cent since the show aired on Sunday night**.

The new crop of Met-Setters appear to want that bronzed look the minute they step on the beach, with four per cent of UK men admitting to visiting a tanning salon or opting for a spray-tan pre-holiday.

With the body and the tan sorted, getting the hairstyle right is next on many men's priorities, with one in ten (ten per cent) taking their hair dryer with them on holiday and one in 20 (five per cent) unable to go away without their hair straighteners.

MoneySupermarket's travel expert Bob Atkinson says: "It appears that British men can't live without their hair dryers and even straighteners on holiday and feel the need to look their best - even on the beach. There's nothing wrong with trying to shed a few pounds pre-holiday, but Brits shouldn't feel intimidated and think that everyone will expect them to have a body like Mark Wright - truth be told we're more likely to see beer bellies than six packs on the sand!"

To see more interesting and fun facts from the survey why not take a look at this video infographic 'Brits Abroad: Men vs Women' which details how men and women differ when planning their holidays and travelling abroad.

*Opinium Research carried out an online survey of 2,014 UK adults on behalf of MoneySupermarket.com aged 18+ from 27 to 30 April 2012. Results have been weighted to nationally representative criteria

**LA statistic sourced by TravelSupermarket.com on 11 June 2012. Flight search increase between 22:00-00:00hrs on 10 June compared to the same period the previous week

http://www.moneysupermarket.com is a website where consumers can compare personal finance products, save money and apply online. The website has several service areas including personal loans, credit cards, mortgages, current accounts, savings accounts, motor insurance, home insurance, travel insurance, health insurance, mobile phones, broadband and shopping.

travelsupermarket.com won 'Best Meta Search/Price Comparison Website' and 'Online Travel Brand of the Year' at the Travolution Awards 2009.

For further press information contact:
Emma Morris
moneysupermarket.com
emma.morris@travelsupermarket.com
+44(0)1244-220-671

SOURCE moneysupermarket.com