The young singles with high disposable incomes often head for Ibiza for the island's clubs and nightlife, and they are quite happy to pay for it.

Often still living at home, and with plenty of cash, young Brits, Italians and Germans are spending more per person on their trips than the conventional family on their villa and hotel breaks on neighbouring islands Menorca and Majorca.

But perhaps the biggest surprise is that the amount of time spent on Ibiza by each tourist is longer than on Menorca and Majorca - destroying the myth that Ibiza is primarily for long weekends or short trips for a couple of nights in the club.

The findings by the Balearics Tourist Authority show that after Ibiza, Menorca visitors stay on average for 11 days, with Majorca just behind. And the same pattern emerges for spending per day, with Ibiza top, Majorca second, and Majorca last.

The amount spent by Ibiza tourists averaged 94 Euros a day - a huge contribution to the island's economy.

Commenting on the figures, a Menorca travel guide says both sets of figures will surprise many who steer away from Ibiza because of her reputation.

'Of the three Balearic Islands, Menorca is known as the quiet one, the type of island where you take your family on holiday if there aren't any mid to late teens who need entertaining, which would be more suited to Majorca. Ibiza is well known in Europe as a clubbing destination.'

Menorca villas are often let out to holidaymakers, with the season generally running from May to end September.

As part of the Balearic Islands, Mallorca has welcomed many visitors back to live full time on the island. Menorca property has proved popular too, for those looking for a gentler pace of life than big sister Mallorca.

Property prices in Mallorca are similar to Menorca property, with a range of apartments and villas in both rural and town locations, and with twenty golf courses plenty of golf course developments too on Mallorca.

Menorca has just the one golf course, recently extended to eighteen holes, and is located in Son Park, which has a choice of hotels, apartments and villas for holiday makers.

The cost of flying to Mallorca has come down in recent years from most European countries due to low cost airlines, especially in the island's core tourist areas of the United Kingdom and Germany, and last year easyJet started direct flights from London's Gatwick Airport to the sister island of Menorca, as well as serving Mallorca itself.