rance is slowly but steadily falling out of British tourists’ favor with visits to the country of eclairs and glittering steel towers declining for the fifth consecutive year.

According to the latest figures out of the UK’s Office for National Statistics, the country that has traditionally been one of the UK’s favorite travel destinations has experienced a steady decline in interest since 2008, falling from 10,855,000 visits that year to 8,781,000 visits in 2012 -- or 5.2 percent.

Meanwhile, though Spain had likewise experienced a dramatic drop in visits between 2008 and 2009, falling from 13,819,000 to 11,582,000 visits, the trend began to reverse itself in 2010.

After experiencing a negative growth rate for a few years, visits to Spain increased 4.3 percent between 2011 and 2012.

Though the report stops short of offering explanations behind the numbers, it could be assumed that savvy Britons took advantage of Spain’s faltering economy knowing they could get more bang for their buck.

Meanwhile, other countries to lose British visits included Barbados, which experienced a 15 percent drop in average annual growth between 2008 and 2012; the Czech Republic, Canada and Egypt, all of which experienced a 12 percent drop during the same period; and Austria, which dropped 11 percent.