The number of holidaymakers wanting to speak to an expert to book travel has risen while peer-to-peer recommendations have become less important in the last year, according to research by Audley Travel.
The tour operator asked customers how they wanted to return to travel at different points during the pandemic – before, in February 2020, and then in July and December last year.
In total, 4,128 people who had travelled or enquired about trips with Audley were surveyed in February, 7,779 in July and 4,092 in December.
The increase in the number of people wanting to speak to a travel professional went up from 71% last February to 76% in December.
The drop in the number of holidaymakers saying they would rely on ‘referral’ resources was significant in the same timescale. For review websites, the proportion saying they would rely on these fell from 41% to 23%, for suggestions from friends, the fall was from 36% to 18%, and for testimonials it was down from 21% to 12%. The importance of guidebooks decreased from 44% to 38%.
The research also showed the increasing importance to clients of having flexible cancellation terms as the year progressed with 70% rating this as important in December compared to 64% in July. Respondents also cited financial security as a key consideration when booking, up from 87% in July to 88% in December.
Another shift was in destination choices, with an increasing number saying they wanted to travel to places they had not been to before once restrictions were lifted. In July, 57% wanted to travel to somewhere they had not been to, rising to 65% by December.
The number of people wanting somewhere familiar stayed fairly constant at 25% in July and 26% in December.
Confidence in travel also rose with the number saying they were not planning to travel halving from 18% in July to 9% in December.
Around a third of respondents said in December the reason for wanting to go away was the lack of travel during 2020, compared to pre-pandemic, when people said they wanted to visit particular places or experience different cultures.
A high percentage, 84%, said in December they would choose a trip with a private driver and guide in order to socially distance from others, and 76% said they would consider a self-drive itinerary.