In 2020, the travel industry will face its steepest decline in history as a result of COVID-19. Overseas holidays will be heavily disrupted even once the possibility of non-essential travel returns. Many people, particularly those in the high/moderate at-risk groups, will not have the confidence to travel or to visit highly populated cities in the short term. Destinations (eg rural, remote), accommodation types (eg villas) and modes of transport (eg self-drive) that allow travellers to avoid the crowds will be in high demand when the market starts to recover. As a result, the independent sector will fare better in the short and medium term.

Flexibility is the core strength of brands that cater for independent travellers. These brands face increasing competition from package holiday providers, who are tapping into high customer demand for personalised holidays. Prior to COVID-19 more than two thirds of package holidaymakers said they would welcome the ability to customise their trip, with elements such as choosing the precise location of the hotel room (eg sea view) and adding transfers (eg to/from the airport) of most interest to them. Demand and scope for more personalised package holidays will accelerate as a result of the pandemic. Holidaymakers will be keen to gain more control in order to control costs and get the most out of their trip.

• The impact of COVID-19 on the package and independent holiday segments

• How consumers’ holidaying preferences will change in the short, medium and long term

• Interest in being able to customise elements of package holidays

• Reasons for booking package vs independent holidays.

This Report examines the habits and attitudes of British adults towards package and independent holidays. A holiday must constitute at least one overnight stay. The business travel market is not reviewed in this Report.

Market size and forecasts refer specifically to the overseas holiday market. Mintel’s consumer research also includes data on the domestic holiday market but the main focus of this Report is holidays abroad.

For the purposes of this Report, Mintel asked a number of questions to UK adults about the ‘main holiday’ they had taken in the last 12 months. This was defined as the holiday on which they had spent the most in terms of travel and accommodation. Mintel has categorised the following types of holidays:

Pure package: travel and accommodation booked together at the same time with only one total price shown (ie no breakdown costs shown).

Dynamic package: travel and accommodation booked together but separate prices shown for each, or travel and accommodation booked separately but from the same retailer and within 24 hours.

Any package holiday: a package holiday is considered to be a holiday in which a return fare and accommodation are purchased from one provider for a single price. Other elements, such as meals or excursions, are not essential to the definition of an inclusive tour. This definition is in conjunction with the International Passenger Survey (IPS).

Independent holiday: the traveller organises and books transport and accommodation from separate sources, or books with the same retailer but more than 24 hours apart.

Linked travel arrangements: An example of a linked travel arrangement is when someone purchases a flight on an airline’s website and subsequently clicks on a link that redirects them to a separate accommodation site. If the customer books accommodation either immediately or within 24 hours, without their details being transferred, then this is classed as a linked travel arrangement. Since 1 July 2018 these arrangements have offered financial protection, although at a lower level than package holidays.

Mintel’s consumer research does not establish whether or not services purchased via separate sources were classed as linked travel arrangements. Therefore these bookings are defined as independent holidays for the purposes of this research.

For standard travel and tourism definitions, see Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information.