With rises in petrol prices, food and energy costs squeezing household budgets more than ever, it's little surprise that consumers are thinking more carefully about where to spend. But according to our stats, non-essentials like gadgets and CDs aren’t the only things to have suffered at the hands of the current economic climate. This year, couples are opting to put something other than champagne on ice: their romantic Valentine's break.

Figures report a drop in dedicated Valentine weekend breaks by 50% compared to 2011, with an additional 72% drop in overall breaks departing over the Valentine weekend.

Despite offering level holiday prices on 2011 for our most popular Valentines break, the destination to have suffered the most was romance-favourite Paris. In a double whammy with increased costs of living, consumers are thought to still be exercising caution towards the Eurozone due to poor exchange rates. The second destination to have been sacrificed in the romance stakes was London.

Kate Glanfield, Web Manager of Door2Tour.com, said: "While there is still time for people to book a Valentines break this year, and people are generally leaving it later to book, it does look as though this year’s Valentine’s Day is going to lack some va-va-voom in terms of traditional, whisk-away romance."

It's not all doom and gloom however, with a rise in event tours and a revival in London theatre breaks for departures throughout the year. The increasing demand in the latter has arguably been boosted by a host of new shows such as Singin’ in the Rain and Dreamboats and Petticoats and a series of new stars freshening up the London stage.

Kate concluded: "What we've seen is that people are now combining a romantic break with an occasion more personal to them to save money. We frequently receive enquiries from people wanting to get away for birthdays and anniversaries, which just goes to show that that despite the cutbacks, romance is not completely dead."