Table of Contents
Introduction
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- Definition
- Abbreviations
Executive Summary
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- The market
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- Figure 1: Estimated number of overseas holidays booked via travel agents, 2007-17
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- Figure 2: Estimated number of domestic holidays booked via travel agents, 2007-17
- Market factors
- Weak pound weighs down overseas sector
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- Figure 3: Index of quarterly average exchange rates for Sterling, Q1 2007-Q3 2012
- Tourist expenditure abroad posts signs of recovery
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- Figure 4: Seasonally adjusted UK tourist expenditure abroad vs. total household final consumption expenditure, Q2 2002-Q2 2012
- Higher spending abroad mitigates impact of decline in overseas holidays
- Inclusive holidays sustain the exotic, long-haul sector
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- Figure 5: Index of overseas holidays, by region, 2007-11
- Domestic holiday market experiences shaky growth
- Market share
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- Figure 6: Leading travel agents, by number of retail outlets*, October 2012
- The consumer
- One in four has booked a holiday using a travel agent
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- Figure 7: Use of travel agents in past two years, October 2012
- Time saving and protection drop, but stay on top
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- Figure 8: Reasons for travel agent use, October 2012
- Positive views of travel agents have fallen
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- Figure 9: Attitudes towards travel agents, October 2012
- Misconceptions about protection fuel travel agent sales
- Increased awareness about ATOL could be a double-edged sword
- What we think
Issues in the Market
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- How will improved consumer awareness about protection affect agents?
- How will VisitEngland’s proposed 2013 campaign affect agents?
- How can agents compete against price comparison websites?
- How can agents attract the lucrative senior demographic?
Trend Application
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- Premiumization and Indulgence
- Guiding Choice
- 2015: Old Gold
Market Drivers
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- Key points
- Industry calls for Flight Plus ATOL extension to airlines
- ATOL extension to be widely advertised in £250,000 online campaign
- Tensions rise as PTD reform deadline draws closer
- Flight Plus to accelerate ABTA membership decline
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- Figure 10: ABTA membership, March 2011-March 2012
- Figure 11: ABTA new membership, July 2011-September 2012
- Operator failures continue, but decline in number year-on-year
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- Figure 12: ATOL tour operator failures/closures in the UK, October 2011-September 2012
- Weak pound weighs down overseas sector
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- Figure 13: Index of quarterly average exchange rates for Sterling, Q1 2007-Q3 2012
- Travel agents remain an key a source of research, despite internet threat
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- Figure 14: Research sources used for holidays/short breaks in the last 12 months, 2010-12
- Figure 15: Research sources used for holidays/short breaks in the last 12 months, 2010-12
- Tourist expenditure abroad posts signs of recovery
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- Figure 16: Seasonally adjusted UK tourist expenditure abroad vs. total household final consumption expenditure, Q2 2002-Q2 2012
- Figure 17: Seasonally adjusted UK tourist expenditure abroad vs. total household final consumption expenditure, 2008-12
- Higher spending abroad mitigates impact of decline in overseas holidays
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- Figure 18: Overseas holiday volume and value, 2007-11
- Inclusive holidays sustain the exotic, long-haul sector
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- Figure 19: Overseas holidays, by region, 2007-11
- Figure 20: Index of overseas holidays, by region, 2007-11
- Domestic holiday market experiences shaky growth
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- Figure 21: Domestic holidays in Great Britain, volume and value, 2007-11
- Travel agents fail to take a slice of the domestic market
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- Figure 22: Domestic holidays in Great Britain, by method booked, 2011
Who's Innovating?
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- Key points
- Companies seek to profit from increasing smartphone penetration
- Industry looks to emulate social networking models to promote sharing
- Thomson to launch ‘shop of the future’
- Virgin chases after post-Olympics goodwill
- Thomas Cook moves to educate agents on differentiated products
Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
- Travel agent market down 13% over five-year period
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- Figure 23: Estimated number of holidays booked via travel agents, 2007-17
- Figure 24: Estimated number of holidays booked via travel agents, 2007-17
- Personal visits to travel agents continue to fall
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- Figure 25: Channel used to book holidays/short breaks in the last 12 months, 2010-12
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- Figure 26: Channel used to book holidays/short breaks in the last 12 months, 2010-12
- Forecast methodology
- Fan chart explanation
Segment Performance
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- Key points
- Decline in overseas segment set to continue
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- Figure 27: Estimated number of overseas holidays booked via travel agents, 2007-17
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- Figure 28: Estimated number of overseas holidays booked via travel agents, 2007-17
- Stronger domestic performance offers limited respite from overall decline
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- Figure 29: Estimated number of domestic holidays booked via travel agents, 2007-17
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- Figure 30: Estimated number of domestic holidays booked via travel agents, 2007-17
Market Share
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- Key points
- Market dominated by post-merger Thomas Cook
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- Figure 31: Leading travel agents, by number of retail outlets*, October 2012
- Thomas Cook slashes store portfolio but retains leading position
- Advantage consortium expands through partnerships and acquisitions
- Some firms pursue passive growth…
- …while others aim for more aggressive expansion
Companies and Products
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- Thomas Cook Group Plc
- Background
- Financial performance
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- Figure 32: Financial performance of Thomas Cook Group Plc, 2010-11
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- Figure 33: Financial performance of Thomas Cook Retail Limited, 2010-11
- Recent activity
- TUI Travel Plc
- Background
- Financial performance
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- Figure 34: Financial performance of TUI Travel Plc, 2010-11
- Recent activity
- Advantage Travel Centres Limited
- Background
- Financial performance
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- Figure 35: Financial performance of Advantage Travel Centres Limited, 2010-11
- Recent activity
- The Travel Network Group (Worldchoice UK Limited)
- Background
- Financial performance
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- Figure 36: Financial performance of Worldchoice Travel Limited, 2010-11
- Figure 37: Financial performance of Worldchoice UK Limited, 2010-11
- Figure 38: Financial performance of TTA (2007) Limited, 2010-11
- Stella Travel Services UK (The Global Travel Group Limited)
- Background
- Financial performance
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- Figure 39: Financial performance of STS UK Holdco II Limited, 2010-11
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- Figure 40: Financial performance of Stella Global UK Limited, 2010-11
- Figure 41: Financial performance of The Global Travel Group Limited, 2010-11
- Recent activity
- Flight Centre (UK) Limited
- Background
- Financial performance
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- Figure 42: Financial performance of Flight Centre (UK) Limited
- Hays Travel Limited
- Background
- Financial performance
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- Figure 43: Financial performance of Hays Travel Limited, 2010-11
- Recent activity
- STA Travel Limited
- Background
- Financial performance
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- Figure 44: Financial performance of STA Travel Limited, 2010-11
- Travel Counsellors Limited
- Background
- Financial performance
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- Figure 45: Financial performance of Travel Counsellors Limited, 2010-11
- Recent activity
- Virgin Holidays Limited
- Background
- Financial performance
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- Figure 46: Financial performance of Virgin Holidays Limited, 2011-12
- Recent activity
Brand Research
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- Brand map
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- Figure 47: Attitudes towards and usage of brands in the travel agent sector, September 2012
- Correspondence analysis
- Brand attitudes
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- Figure 48: Attitudes by travel agent brand, September 2012
- Brand personality
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- Figure 49: Travel agent brand personality – macro image, September 2012
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- Figure 50: Travel agent brand personality – micro image, September 2012
- Brand experience
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- Figure 51: Travel agent brand usage, September 2012
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- Figure 52: Satisfaction with various travel agent brands, September 2012
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- Figure 53: Consideration of travel agent brands, September 2012
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- Figure 54: Consumer perceptions of current travel agent brand performance, September 2012
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- Figure 55: Travel agent brand recommendation – Net Promoter Score, September 2012
- Brand index
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- Figure 56: Travel agent brand index, September 2012
- Figure 57: Travel agent brand index vs. recommendation, September 2012
- Target group analysis
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- Figure 58: Target groups, September 2012
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- Figure 59: Travel agent brand usage, by target groups, September 2012
- Group One – Conformists
- Group Two – Simply the best
- Group Three – Shelf stalkers
- Group Four – Habitual shoppers
- Group Five – Individualists
Travel Agent Use
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- Key points
- One in four has booked a holiday using a travel agent
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- Figure 60: Use of travel agents in past two years, October 2012
- Usage down against 2010 peak
- Almost one in ten still visits an agent for non-booking use…
- … but many are wary of pushy sales personnel
- Usage lowest among financially significant 55-64 demographic
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- Figure 61: Travel agent use, by demographics, October 2012
- Figure 62: UK resident’s holidays abroad, Apr-Jun 2012
- ABs offer largest unexploited resource
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- Figure 63: Travel agent use, by socio-economic group, October 2012
- Presence of young children dampens usage
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- Figure 64: Travel agent use, by presence of children, October 2012
Reasons for Travel Agent Use
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- Key points
- Time saving and protection drop, but stay on top
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- Figure 65: Reasons for travel agent use, October 2012
- Desire for protection highest among middle aged
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- Figure 66: Reasons for travel agent use, by age, October 2012
- Motivation to save money decreases by lifestage
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- Figure 67: Reasons for travel agent use, by lifestage, October 2012
- A third of ABs are satisfied and would book again
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- Figure 68: Reasons for travel agent use, by socio-economic group, October 2012
- Long-haul travellers seek value and expertise
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- Figure 69: Reasons for travel agent use, by use of travel agents in past two years, any booking and package bookings, October 2012
- Flight-only holidaymakers use agents to save time
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- Figure 70: Reasons for travel agent use, by use of travel agents in past two years, non-package/non-booking use, October 2012
Attitudes Towards Travel Agents
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- Key points
- Positive views of travel agents have fallen
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- Figure 71: Attitudes towards travel agents, October 2012
- Over 65s most likely to view agents as most convenient option
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- Figure 72: Selected attitudes towards travel agents, by age group, October 2012
- Misconceptions about protection fuel travel agent sales
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- Figure 73: Attitudes towards travel agents, by reasons for travel agent use, October 2012
- Increased awareness about ATOL could be a double-edged sword
Appendix – Market Drivers
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- Figure 74: Research sources used for holidays/short breaks in the last 12 months, 2010-12
- Figure 75: Research sources used for holidays/short breaks in the last 12 months, 2010-12
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Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Figure 76: Channel used to book holidays/short breaks in the last 12 months, 2010-12
- Figure 77: Channel used to book holidays/short breaks in the last 12 months, 2010-12
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- Figure 78: Channel used to book holidays/short breaks in the last 12 months, 2010-12
- Figure 79: Channel used to book holidays/short breaks in the last 12 months, 2010-12
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- Figure 80: Estimated number of holidays booked via travel agents, 2007-17
- Figure 81: Estimated number of overseas holidays booked via travel agents, 2007-17
- Figure 82: Estimated number of domestic holidays booked via travel agents, 2007-17
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Appendix – Brand Research
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- Figure 83: Brand usage, September 2012
- Figure 84: Brand commitment, September 2012
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- Figure 85: Brand momentum, September 2012
- Figure 86: Brand diversity, September 2012
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- Figure 87: Brand satisfaction, September 2012
- Figure 88: Brand recommendation, September 2012
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- Figure 89: Brand attitude, September 2012
- Figure 90: Brand image – Macro image, September 2012
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- Figure 91: Brand image – Micro image, September 2012
- Figure 92: Profile of target groups, by demographics, September 2012
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- Figure 93: Psychographic segmentation by target groups, September 2012
- Figure 94: Brand usage, by target groups, September 2012
- Brand index
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- Figure 95: Brand index, September 2012
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Appendix – Travel Agent Use
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- Figure 96: Most popular travel agent use, by demographics, October 2012
- Figure 97: Next most popular travel agent use, by demographics, October 2012
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- Figure 98: Other travel agent use, by demographics, October 2012
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Appendix – Reasons for Travel Agent Use
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- Figure 99: Reasons for travel agent use, by demographics, October 2012
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Appendix – Attitudes towards Travel Agents
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- Figure 100: Most popular attitudes towards travel agents, by demographics, October 2012
- Figure 101: Next most popular attitudes towards travel agents, by demographics, October 2012
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