Kuoni is recommending that travel agents look deeper into customers’ motivation for travelling after surveying 2,100 consumers as part of its annual Holiday Report.
The survey found 70% of respondents said holidays offer a vital break from work, a figure that rises to 80% among high earners, who feel a holiday is the only time they can truly switch off.
Harley Street psychotherapist Christine Webber said life changes involving matters of the heart are particularly prevalent once on holiday.
The research found 59% of those who discuss divorce while away take action on their return, while 53% get married or engaged on their return from holiday having discussed it overseas.
Once on holiday many couples use the time to reignite their relationships, with 27% of respondents saying a break allowed them to reignite their love life.
Finding out a customer’s motivation for taking a break, as well as what kind of holiday they want, can really help an agent suggest a suitable option, according to Kuoni UK managing director Joanna Edmunds.
“It is about agents helping customers find the holiday that is right for them,” she said. “Agents can have a genuine conversation with their customers and so be sensitive to the underlying emotions.
“They may find a person needs reassurance; for instance, a widow going away for the first time on her own can be a really massive deal for her.”
Edmunds said Kuoni would now reconsider how they market breaks having found in this year’s research the emotional investment consumers make in their breaks. “It does really make you think about the way we present our holidays,” she added.