A NEW report says British travellers are more likely to be satisfied with their holiday packages from a small, independent operator, rather than the "Big Two" of Thomas Cook and TUI Travel.

But Holiday Which? magazine says that with Brits making around 70 million trips abroad each year, and splashing £35billion-plus on their travels, many might have little idea about their tour operator.

The division between big and small operators has become hopelessly blurred by takeovers, which have left firms closely intertwined.

For example, leading adventure holiday specialist Explore! is a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators. It's also part of Holidaybreak, a tour giant earning much of its profits from Superbreaks, the top UK short-break business.

Explore's big rival on adventure holidays is Exodus, acquired by First Choice and now part of TUI Travel.

Which? reports rising demand for more flexible packages and better services in smaller, family-run hotels, away from high-rise flats in overcrowded resorts.

Thomas Cook's new Local Flavours programme for Summer 2008, promising "holidays with authentic and local charm", is a sign of this trend. It includes seven night B&B stays in family-run hotels in Amalfi from just over £500.

The division between tour giants and tiddlers could get even fuzzier with several more "minnows" likely to sell out before April 5, to avoid big hikes in capital gains tax.

On short-haul travel, Which? best-performers include Riviera Travel, Expedia and Inghams. Poorest performers in this category were Airtours, Cosmos, Crystal, First Choice and Thomas Cook.

Long-haul top performers included Kuoni, luxury coach specialist Titan Travel, Saga and Trailfinders - with Thomas Cook and Thomson the worst performers.

As a rule, long-haul travellers were more satisfied than short-haul clients - of whom only 38% thought their break represented good value.

Average spend was £1355 for long-haul, and £714 for short-haul.

According to the survey: "Customers of Page & Moy, Riviera Travel and Travelsphere are more likely than average to rate their holiday as very good value. Customers of Airtours, First Choice, Thomas Cook and Thomson are less likely than average to think their money is well spent."

Which? also identified a variation in customer attitudes. Those over 65 tended to use a brochure and book by phone, while under-45s were more inclined to take less expensive breaks in self-catering premises.

The family sector is also seeing a big rise in demand for activity holidays.

Responding to the survey, Thomas Cook said: "Customer service is paramount across all our brands, so we were surprised by the Which? findings, based on surveys of some 3000 holidaymakers.

"We received nearly 500,000 completed questionnaires from those who travelled with us in Summer 2007. More than 90% would be happy to travel with us again and recommend us to family and friends."