Consumers show increased interest in all-inclusive holidays for 2017. Ian Taylor reports on exclusive research for Travel Weekly.
Research for the 2016 Travel Weekly Insight Report shows a three-point rise year on year in prospective UK holidaymakers intending to book an all-inclusive break, to 43% of all those planning an overseas holiday in 2017.
That may not sound much of an increase, but the study found an additional 14-point rise to 21% in those undecided about whether to book an all-inclusive holiday – suggesting in total that as many as two out of three UK adults planning a holiday next year might look at an all-inclusive booking.
When research firm Kantar TNS asked the same question for Travel Weekly a year ago more than half the respondents (52%) said they were unlikely to make an all-inclusive booking. This October, just 31% said they were unlikely to.
The findings appear to fit with forecasts that more people could look to lock-in the price of their main overseas holiday next year following the fall in the value of sterling.
Parents with children, young adults and those in the South showed the sharpest moves towards all-inclusive holidays.
There was a 13-point rise year on year to 58% among those with children, a 10-point rise to 47% among 16-24-year-olds, and a 15-point rise to 46% among consumers in the South.
Just as remarkable was the increase in those ‘undecided’ about whether to book an all-inclusive in every group of respondents by age, region and social class.
For example, there was a 17-point rise year on year in those undecided on whether to book an all-inclusive among all adults aged 35 and over, and also a 17-point rise to 25% among lower income groups.
There was a 16-point rise among young adults (aged 16-24), of whom 72% said they intend to book or were undecided about booking an all-inclusive holiday.
Other responses on accommodation preferences suggested almost half (46%) of those planning a break abroad intend to stay in four, five or five-star-plus hotels.
One in seven (14%) said they were looking at self-catering, almost one in 10 (8%) at a cruise and 13% undecided.
Just 3% said they were considering Airbnb-style homestay accommodation – a three-point fall on a year ago.
Respondents showed an increased awareness of the risks of terrorism when travelling, with 36% of those planning an overseas holiday identifying a terrorist attack in a destination or at an airport as a concern – up 15 percentage points two years ago when prospective holidaymakers were asked the same question.
The proportion saying they had no concerns remained stable at about one in four – at 24% in the most recent survey in October 2016 and 23% in October 2014.
Respondents were presented with a list of possible concerns, including an outbreak of disease, losing money or cards, or being stranded and asked to identify which worried them.
Terrorism was the number-one concern in every age group except among 35-44-year-olds, who were more concerned about falling ill abroad.
Young adults, aged 16-24, appeared the most-nervous travellers with only 15% saying they had no concerns, half the rate among those aged 35 and above.
The survey findings suggest almost half the UK adult population (46%) took at least one overseas holiday in the past year and almost one in five (19%) took two or more.
That represented a five-point rise year on year in the proportion taking at least one overseas holiday, and a two-point rise in those taking more than one.
However, two in five (41%) had not taken a holiday abroad in five or more years.
Household income appears the biggest single factor in whether people travel overseas, with just 37% of adults in lower income groups or social classes C2DE – of whom there are about 24 million in the UK– expecting to have an overseas holiday in any year.
Londoners are far more likely to holiday abroad than other UK adults, with 61% making at least one leisure trip overseas in the year compared with 38% in the Midlands.
This could be related to the finding that three out of four adult holidaymakers who make more than one trip abroad a year (75%) travel without children.
Kantar TNS interviewed a sample of 1,249 UK adults online on October 18-20.
More results can be found in the 2016 Travel Weekly Insight Report available online here