This is the first Holiday Habits report for three years. It assesses how people travelled between September 2021 and August 2022, which covers the first real opportunity people had to travel since global COVID-19 travel restrictions were introduced in early 2020.

Consumer demand for holidays has remained resilient throughout the pandemic, and this was unleashed as restrictions started to relax and lift, with 77% of people taking a holiday in the UK or abroad over the last 12 months. Of these trips, 39% of people said they took a holiday which was rolled over from during the pandemic, with 74% saying they took a trip which was a new booking. 

The removal of UK travel restrictions in March 2022 saw people return to their beloved overseas holiday. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and over the last 12 months 45% of people took a trip abroad. This is a large proportion taking into account that travel from the UK was difficult, or sometimes near impossible, for the first six months of the period this report covers. 

The travel industry is still very much at the beginning of its recovery. We’re also operating in a complex political and economic climate. The nation is in the midst of a cost of living crisis, with high inflation, increasing interest rates and rising energy bills. As we explore in the report, indications from our research show that people plan to prioritise spending on holidays over other non-essentials but many plan to make changes as to how they holiday. At the time of writing we are just weeks into a new Government which has just announced tax reforms and help with energy bills; time will tell what this means in reality for consumers. 

There is also the global threat of climate change and for the first time we reveal data on people’s attitudes towards climate change and holidays, along with other sustainability issues. In the industry, there is a growing focus on this, with the sector working together to develop a more sustainable future.

There are challenges ahead but there are also reasons to be optimistic. This is also shown in our latest research on the value of outbound travel to the UK economy. With the right framework, outbound travel is forecast to grow by 15% over the next five years – outperforming most other parts of the UK economy. 

Mark Tanzer
Chief Executive