The number of photos captured by Brits abroad has almost doubled in the last five years.

A study by insurance company esure reveals that over the last five years the average number of pictures taken on holiday has doubled from 49 to 86 – driven by the popularity of ‘going digital’ and technical advances of mobile phones. A fifth of holidaymakers (19%) admit to taking over 100 photos with 3% going seriously ‘snap happy’ by clicking over 300 times on their holiday – with a development cost of over £20.

With 73% of people admitting to taking a digital camera on holiday, 72% carrying a mobile phone, and almost a third (30%) never leaving without their camcorder, holidaymakers have apparently caught on to the ‘snap and delete’ mentality of digital photography.

Meanwhile, standard film cameras are being shelved – the number of holidaymakers travelling with one in their hand luggage has halved over the last five years from 30% to just 14% today.

Jacky Brown, Head of Travel Insurance at esure, said: “Not that long ago filling hand luggage with camera film was a top priority for holidaymakers. Nowadays, all they need to remember is an additional memory card.?

To conclude the survey, esure has compiled some tips on keeping digital gadgets safe on holiday:

Keep your camera or mobile phone in a waterproof case when on a boat trip or by the pool – or consider buying an inexpensive disposable camera to take along instead.

Don’t choose a camera bag that displays the brand of the item inside – this makes it more attractive to thieves.

Never leave your valuables unattended on the beach.

If possible, store all valuables in a hotel safe at times when you don’t need them.

Choose a bag that has zips and secure fasteners.

Never flaunt expensive gadgets – when you’ve used them, put them out of sight.