Consumers were already becoming more cautious about booking holidays before the Omicron variant of Covid-19 emerged, according to market research firm Mintel.
A Mintel survey in mid-November found 24% of UK adults were planning to book an overseas or domestic holiday by the end of March, “well below” pre-pandemic levels.
Mintel associate director for travel Marloes de Vries said: “In normal years, consumer intention to book holidays would gain momentum towards the end of the year ahead of the peak booking season. However, a surge in Covid-19 cases on the Continent and drop in consumer confidence caused by the rising cost of living fuelled more cautious behaviour.”
However, De Vries reported: “Staycation intentions have recovered to pre-pandemic levels.”
The survey found 32% of UK adults plan to take their main holiday in the UK next year, similar to the share who took their main holiday in the UK in 2019 (31%) and up from the 26% who said they planned to take their main holiday in the UK in January 2021.
De Vries said: “There is still significant uncertainty surrounding international travel, [with] 32% of UK adults planning to take their main holiday abroad in 2022, below pre-pandemic levels when 45% of Brits spent their main holiday overseas [in 2019], but similar to the share (31%) who planned their main holiday overseas in January 2021.”
She noted “nearly one in 10 Brits had not yet decided on their holiday destination” but argued: “It’s unlikely the volume of overseas holidays will reach pre-pandemic levels during 2022’s peak season.
“Regulations will continue to have a big say on the speed of recovery. Half of those planning to holiday overseas in 2021 in January [this year] had changed their mind by June.”
But de Vries added: “Once confidence in international travel recovers, some brands could report a quicker recovery due to the gap in the market as a result of the Thomas Cook collapse [in 2019].”
Mintel surveyed 1,000 UK adults online between November 25 and December 1.