Package holidays remain most popular option for overseas holidays.

New research* from ABTA reveals that four in ten of us (38%) have used the services of a travel professional to book a holiday over the past 12 months.  According to ABTA’s Holiday Habits Report 2017, the top reasons for doing so include: to make booking easier, provide greater confidence and to save time.

The well-off and families with young children are the most likely to use travel professionals, with half (50%) of those in social grade A and 47% of those with children under five having used their services in the past year.

Busy people looking for an easy life

21^st century living comes with increasing pressure on people’s time, and almost half (48%) of respondents who used a travel professional stated that they did so to save time. This is especially true of 35-44 year olds (63%) and 25-34 year olds (56%), suggesting these age groups are the most time-pressured. Wealthier customers are also more likely to give this as a reason for using travel professionals, with 64% of those classed as social grade A citing this.  Six in ten people also gave ease of booking as a reason for using a travel professional; this increases with age, culminating with 75% of the over-65s.

Confidence in Travel

Consumer confidence in a volatile world is increasingly important and travel professionals play their role in providing this confidence, particularly among younger generations and the better off.  More than six in ten (62%) of 18-24 year olds and 64% of those classed as social grade A stated that they felt more confident when booking with a travel professional.

Families - biggest fans of travel professionals

The responsibilities and pressures of family life see members of the public turning towards travel professionals, with almost half of those with children under five (47%) and those with older children over five (44%) using their services in the past 12 months.

Package holidays - popular and convenient

The number of overseas package holidays taken has remained steady, with 52% of respondents taking one in the past 12 months (53% in 2016), and it remains the single most popular booking option for foreign holidays. The top reason for booking a package is “having everything taken care of” with three-quarters of all respondents stating this. 

Among families, this is even more important, with eight out of ten families with children giving this as a reason.

Mark Tanzer, ABTA Chief Executive, said: “Holidays are a chance to relax and escape the day to day pressures and worries of life. Our research shows that even during booking, people want a stress-free experience and they particularly value the assistance of travel professionals in helping them to do so. Families and the well-off particularly value travel professionals’ experience and expertise.  People also continue to appreciate the convenience of packages, with package holidays remaining the single most popular overseas holiday option, particularly for families.”

To download the Holiday Habits Report 2017 see here: www.abta.com/holidayhabits2017  

10 October 2017

*Consumer research was conducted by Arkenford Ltd (www.arkenford.co.uk) who specialise in leisure and tourism market research. The ABTA Consumer Trends survey generated responses from a nationally representative sample of 2000 consumers using an online research methodology and related to holiday booking habits in the 12 months to August 2017. Fieldwork was conducted in August 2017.