The recession isn’t ruining the UK’s appetite for an awesome holiday. More people than last year are saying they’ll take a chief holiday overseas (73% in 2013 vs 66% in 2012) and there’s a growing intention to book a vacation of seven nights or more (95% in 2013 vs 89% in 2012).
These are two of the insights from BDRC Continental’s annual Holiday Trends survey.
For the primary time in four years, however, the number planning a ‘staycation’ has dropped. After a dreary 2012, ‘the weather’ is the principle cause of the united kingdom being thought to be less appealing than many years ago. But London bucks this booking trend, boasting a rise in holidays already booked within the capital in 2013 compared with the identical period last year. The Olympic legacy evidently lives on, with almost a 3rd (31%) of these who were either considering London as a vacation destination or had already booked a visit to the capital citing the Games as having a good influence in this decision.
The research also reveals that travellers don’t take their holiday decisions lightly. Two fifths of respondents (41%) stated that they use review sites for many / each of the holidays they take, rising to just about half (49%) among people with children. Trust in review sites is robust, with over half (52%) trusting the review to be a correct overall reflection of the destination. And this trust seems to be well placed – evidence means that review writing is just not generally dictated by the standard of the vacation experience, with propensity to write down one similar whether the experience was positive or negative.
Steve Mills, Director at BDRC Continental, says: “Following several dire domestic summers for weather, apparently we’re finally starting to see a softening of the staycation effect and stronger consideration of trips abroad. Our findings are supported by a robust begin to the year for a lot of outbound tour operators and travel agents. With the rage towards late bookings, the market is increasingly volatile, so it’ll be interesting to peer how these trends pan out inside the coming months and the impact that the elements and current weakening of Sterling have that can be purchased.”
Recommended