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Industry Insight by... Tracey Poggio, chair of ANTOR, looks at the fluctuating travel trends of the British public
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HE RESILIENCE of the British public and their desire to travel on annual holidays has never been more robust than during the recent decade. A continued flood of global crises and natural disasters could have deterred even the hardiest of travellers for years to come. Yet true to form, survey after survey will show that the British working nation are not only taking holidays, but some of us are even staying away for longer. In fact, the office for national statistics states that 60.1 million visits were made abroad in 2014 and that the average length of stay had increased by 1.9%. As we slowly head out of one of the worst global recessions in recent history, travel trends for the UK consumer continue to fluctuate. Happily for the industry, reports reveal that the public’s intention to holiday overseas has risen for the third year in a row to 80%, in line with the slow but steady return of consumer confidence. Whilst the proportion of society defined as social class ‘A’ are leaving cautious optimism behind, the majority of consumers are driving the growth of the ‘hard working holiday’, combining holidays with events, shows and experiences, as the search for value has become ingrained on consumers. With these changes in mind, ANTOR surveyed its members to establish how length of stay has changed over the years and the reasons behind these trends. The results found that more than half of respondents classed themselves as short-haul travellers, with 30 % opting for long-haul and the remainder classed themselves as mid-haul, at a distance of four to seven hours’ flying time. Of those polled, the top two holiday types were identified as city breaks and beach destinations, reflecting the shortand long-haul segmentation. As a whole, ANTOR members gave a mixed response as to whether the average length of stay had increased, decreased or remained the same. Some 30% of respondents saw the average length of stay decrease, and this correlated with the number of respondents who marked themselves as long-haul destinations. These findings are in line with results published by the BDRC Holiday Trends Report 2015, where a decrease of 4% was reported for the length of stay of eight to ten nights. Meanwhile, the survey of 26
September 11th 2015
As we head out of one of the worst global recessions in recent history, travel trends for the UK consumer continue to fluctuate. Reports reveal that the public’s intention to holiday overseas has risen for the third year in a row... ANTOR members showed a marginal majority (47%) reporting an increase of the average length of stay over the last decade, whilst 23% reported that it hadn’t changed. Although the BDRC report illustrates a current trend in shorter length of stays and a decrease in extended stays, the ANTOR survey supports the theory that longer length of stays are more typical with longhaul destinations. Although consumer spending is on the rise, consumers remain time poor and therefore opt for more regular short-haul breaks but potentially for a longer time period of between three and five days. ANTOR members highlighted two primary reasons for the change in length stays: accessibility and the change in value for money/exchange rates. With the increase of ‘no frills flights’ as highlighted by the ABTA Consumer Trends Report 2015, access to shorthaul destinations in particular has increased. The recent strength of the pound against the euro has also encouraged consumers to take advantage of holidays within the Eurozone. Margit Klemmenson for Visit Denmark endorsed this theory as she commented that the increase in vacations overseas can be “traced to the stronger condition of the British pound, but also to the increasing wealth of the British population”. As Europe in particular continues to be impacted by political and financial issues, we will no doubt see continued fluctuation in the travelling patterns of the consumer this year. But with destinations looking forward to the winter season, the industry can feel slightly at ease in the knowledge that the British traveller will be travelling for a long time to come. www.travelbulletin.co.uk