Britons keen to travel, despite cost of living crisis

As part of its first Holiday Habits report in three years, UK travel operator association ABTA noted the 45 per cent figure as significant – approximately 70 per cent of the number of people who took a foreign holiday in 2019.

Travel restrictions were only lifted in March 2022, indicating the importance of holidays for Brits, confirmed by Mark Tanzer, ABTA Chief Executive: “The lifting of the UK’s travel rules this year unleashed a surge in overseas holidays, with almost twice as many people travelling abroad in the six months from March to August 2022 (38 per cent), than in the previous six months (21 per cent).

“Given how much these restrictions had dampened demand, it’s quite remarkable to see foreign holiday taking already reaching 70 per cent of 2019 levels, which was in itself a bumper year for travel, in such a short space of time,” he added.

Foreign travel boost to continue

In the next year, ABTA expects the return of foreign travel to be permanent, noting that 61 per cent of people surveyed are planning a holiday abroad in the next 12 months. Despite growing cost of living pressures, people surveyed said they would prefer to limit non-essential spending elsewhere before cutting back on their holidays.

Tanzer added: “We now face an uncertain year ahead given the cost of living challenges, but ABTA’s research suggests that we should continue to see an increase in foreign holidays next year and, encouragingly, many of our Members have also been reporting a high level of demand for bookings.”

Holidaymakers seeking ‘comfort’ in travel professionals

The year has also seen a rise in demand for the services of traditional travel professionals. Thirty-six-per-cent of travellers booked with a travel professional this year, compared with 34 per cent in 2019.

A significant proportion of 25-34-year-olds (55 per cent) and young families (54 per cent) booked this way – reflecting a substantial increase compared with 2019 figures (38 per cent and 36 per cent respectively). Of those booked with a travel professional, 44 per cent cited ease of booking as their core motivation, followed by 35 per cent citing access to assistance in the event of a problem.

Package deals were the most popular way to holiday overseas, with almost two thirds (63 per cent) of holidaymakers taking this kind of trip. Value was the top motivation (34 per cent) for booking a package holiday, followed by ‘having everything taken care of’ (29 per cent) and the holiday being ‘all-inclusive’ (28 per cent).

ABTA says the pandemic has led to longstanding changes in how holidaymakers organise their travel. This includes more people taking out a ‘good’ travel insurance policy (71 per cent), paying closer attention to terms and conditions (63 per cent) or making sure to book with an ABTA member agency (61 per cent).

“People have found comfort in the security of booking a package holiday and accessing the expertise of travel professionals,” said Tanzer. “It remains to be seen whether this will continue as a firm trend in 2023 but, if it does, it may prove a rare positive legacy of the pandemic for ABTA Members.”