Affordability will continue to be consumers’ ‘top priority’ when booking holiday

Cost and affordability will continue to be the top priority for UK consumers when booking a holiday, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which forecast a “positive road ahead” for the travel sector.

Eleanor Scott of Strategy&, part of the PwC UK network, delivered a presentation at Abta’s Travel Convention in Calvia on proprietary research and customer behaviour alongside Sam Farnfield, also of Strategy&, and PwC UK head of travel Rick Jones.

Scott said PwC research conducted this summer revealed value for money was the most important factor for British holidaymakers when choosing where to travel.

“The top criteria in our survey was around cost and affordability,” said Scott. “Confidence is a bit fragile at the moment and that means that people are spending carefully.

“When people are spending carefully they want to know that they’re getting good value, so you need to offer value for money to customers – and you need to be able to communicate that as well.

“I think this will continue to be a top criteria while confidence is as it is.”

Scott added that value for money “doesn’t necessarily mean the cheapest holiday available”.

Jones said PwC research shows people are continuing to prioritise spend on experiences despite economic uncertainty, including overseas travel, which gives the industry a “reason to be cheerful”, which is the theme of this year’s Travel Convention.

“What we can see is that experiences are being prioritised,” he said, adding: “In the year ahead, travel is very much a top priority.

“When we asked what people think they’ll be spending their money on next year, 35% of people said they’ll be spending more on travel [than this year].”

Summarising the presentation, Jones said: “Despite the political macro environment, we do believe that the road ahead is a positive one for the travel sector.”