Abta’s latest travel industry trends show that package holidays – which include flights and accommodation – are on the rise, accounting for more than 48% of all holidays booked over the last year, up 6% from the year before. Meanwhile, DIY holidays – in which flights and hotels are booked separately – have declined by almost 4% in the last 12 months to September of this year.
Another trend noted by Abta is that more travelers are booking their holidays earlier as well, in the hope of a better price than they would get by leaving things till the last minute. In line with this, a growing number of people (25% of all holidaymakers) are turning to high street travel agents once more.
When asked about their priorities, the majority of holidaymakers listed “lowest prices” as their biggest concern, while “booking with a well known brand” was only third on the list. Financial protection, in the form of insurance or travelers checks, came second.
Tourists are placing greater value on price than big names when booking their holidays © lassedesignen - Fotolia.com
According to Abta, the new trends reflect a growing anxiety among consumers over the state of the economy. In addition, it said the lack of any high-profile failures among travel companies had served to bolster tourist’s confidence in less well-established brands.
One bright spot from Abta was that overall, the number of people setting off for sunnier climes during their holidays has increased. It put this rise down to greater numbers of under 34-year olds taking more frequent, but shorter trips over the last 12 months.
Abta’s research was carried out by Arkenford, an independent research agency that quizzed more than 2,000 people across Europe on their travel habits.