The ramp up in Covid-19 restrictions and test requirements ahead of Christmas has damaged consumer confidence to take overseas holidays, research suggests.
But despite the fall, confidence to travel in early December remained at a higher level than in July and August and has taken no greater knock than confidence in taking a domestic holiday.
A rolling survey by research firm BVA BDRC found a fall of three percentage points between November and December in the proportion of consumers (42%) ‘comfortable’ to take an overseas holiday in the next month.
That compared with 73% pre-Covid, producing a ‘comfort gap’ of -31, according to BVA BDRC.
The proportion comfortable to fly rose by one percentage point month on month to 45% or -26 points compared with the pre-Covid figure. But the proportion comfortable to take a UK domestic holiday also fell, by five percentage points on November to 70% or -12 points on the pre-Covid level.
The decline in willingness to travel both domestically and internationally suggests concerns about the Omicron Covid-19 variant are having a greater impact than the enhanced test requirements for international travel.
The proportion of consumers comfortable to travel abroad on holiday in early December was four points down on late September, but eight points higher than in July and August.
The survey also found a four-point dip between October and December in the proportion of consumers comfortable to stay in a hotel at 68% compared with 80% pre-Covid.
BVA BDRC reported 2.4% of respondents had booked a flight in November, down from 2.9% in October but otherwise the highest rate since February 2020.
However, it warned: “The impact of Omicron is probably not yet reflected in these figures.”
In a summary of the results, the research firm noted the mood of UK consumers “decreased slightly” in early December.
It found 18% of the population “struggling” financially, with only 10% “well-off”, and noted rising prices had left half the UK population “worried about their financial situation”.
Among those struggling, it found: “A fairly substantial proportion has never struggled before.”
The researchers reported respondents’ spending on most ‘out-of-home’ sectors “declined in November to levels seen in early summer”, for which they blamed “a mix of seasonality, rising case numbers and pending restrictions”, while noting: “These levels are much higher than a year ago.”
BVA BDRC suggested: “There seems to be an element of people having ‘adjusted’ to higher case numbers and restrictions.”
The survey was conducted on December 1-6 among 1,756 UK adults.