One in three consumers are already thinking about a holiday abroad in 2013 and the proportion will swell to two out of five from Boxing Day, according to research.
Record numbers expect to book online next year, but how they do so may be about to change as one in four adults expect to give or receive a tablet computer, such as an iPad, this Christmas.
The survey of 500 people – a cross-section of consumers – by Explore Research was carried out for Travel Weekly.
Explore asked those who expect to take an overseas holiday in 2013 when they will begin planning it.
One-third (32%) said they had already started and a further 8% said they would “immediately after Christmas”. An additional 21% said they would do so between New Year and Easter.
Almost three-quarters (74%) said they would begin their holiday research online, with 63% expecting to book online.
One in five (21%) expected to book with an agency, over the phone or through a combination of an agent, call centre and online.
A minority appear ready to research or book by tablet or smartphone: 6% said they would research their holiday by tablet or phone and 3% to book it that way.
But 24% of adults in the survey expect to give or receive a tablet for Christmas, suggesting the proportion could quickly rise.
Tablets offer the convenience and connectivity of a smartphone, but with the bigger screen and better resolution of a laptop.
Younger adults appear most likely to book online, 78% saying they would do so next year compared with 52% of over-55s.