Using trends to target travellers
UK price comparison website Compare the Market has investigated travel trends among different demographics
It found that Spain is the most universally popular destination for all travellers, irrespective of age, welcoming 16.6 per cent of UK holidaymakers in 2018. It is most popular among those aged 65 and older – indeed, in 2018, 24.6 per cent of holidays for this age group were to Spain.
Estonia is a key destination for millennials
France was also found to be a popular destination among all age groups and, again, is especially popular among the 65-plus demographic – 12.5 per cent of their holidays were to France in 2018.
The US was found to represent 6.7 per cent of trips made by Brits in 2018, although the 25-34-year-old demographic preferred Germany.
China was found to be a uniquely popular travel destination for those aged 16-24 – Compare the Market found that this age group is 184-per-cent more likely than average to travel here and that visits to China by this age group in 2018 were 135-per-cent above the average, at 0.8 per cent of their travel in 2018.
For those aged 25-34, Estonia was found to be particularly popular. People of this age are 91 per cent more likely than average to travel here, and travel to this destination represented 0.2 per cent of their trips in 2018.
For 35-44-year-olds, Slovenia was a hit in 2018, comprising 0.2 per cent of their total trips. This age group is 159 per cent more likely than average to travel to this destination. And for those aged 45-54, Egypt proved to be popular, representing 0.3 per cent of trips by this demographic – a preference 57 per cent higher than average.
Gibraltar was a uniquely popular destination for 55-64-year-olds in 2018. This age group is 99-per-cent more likely than average to travel there and 0.2 per cent of their trips were to this country. Last, but by no means least, those aged 65 and over really rated New Zealand in 2018, with 0.7 per cent of travel going there in 2018, 152-per-cent higher than the overall average.
Patrick Ikhena, Head of Travel Insurance at Compare the Market commented on the findings: “It’s interesting to see that whilst some countries are universally popular for British holidaymakers, some destinations are definitely favoured by certain generations.
“Knowing which destinations are most popular for each generation is useful both for those who want to travel with others around the same age and for tourist boards to see which age groups they currently are/aren’t appealing to. For example, our analysis reveals that Estonia is a key destination for millennials, so this is a great opportunity to target these travellers and craft their offerings to an audience of this age.”
A full list of findings is available on comparethemarket.com.