Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Market factors
- Package holidays gained market share throughout the recession
- Shift to independent bookings is set to resume over the next five years
- Domestic market should remain largely flat over the next five years
- Tablet ownership has increased to over half of UK adults
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- Figure 1: Personal smartphone and household tablet ownership, January 2012-June 2014
- Tripadvisor.co.uk and booking.com have a clear lead by unique visitors
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- Figure 2: Top 20 travel websites, by unique visitors (3-month moving average), August 2014
- Trivago the highest-spending travel industry advertiser so far in 2014
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- Figure 3: Top 20 travel companies, by advertising spend, 1 January-14 October 2014
- Big two continue to dominate the UK market by passengers licensed
- On Holiday Group is the largest failure of the year, but the impact is limited
- The consumer
- Three quarters of adults have taken a holiday in the last 12 months
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- Figure 4: Holidays taken in the last 12 months, September 2014
- 28% of holidaymakers booked a pure package holiday
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- Figure 5: Booking method used, September 2014
- One in 10 started research less than a week before booking
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- Figure 6: Holiday research lead time, September 2014
- High search engine use provides a stage for Google to expand its products
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- Figure 7: Holiday research sources used, September 2014
- A quarter of holidaymakers used a smartphone or tablet for research
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- Figure 8: Devices used for research, September 2014
- 14% booked their last holiday using a smartphone or tablet
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- Figure 9: Devices used for booking, September 2014
- People are sceptical of the value offered by travel agent staff
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- Figure 10: Attitudes towards researching and booking holidays, September 2014
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- How will growth in the mobile channel shape consumer behaviour?
- The facts
- The implications
- Personalisation offers opportunities
- The facts
- The implications
Trend Application
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- Trend: Influentials
- Trend: Life Hacking
- Trend: Human
Market Drivers
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- Key points
- Package holidays gained market share throughout the recession
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- Figure 11: Forecast volume of UK overseas package holidays, 2008-18
- Shift to independent bookings set to resume over the next five years
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- Figure 12: Forecast volume of UK overseas independent holidays, 2008-18
- Domestic market should remain largely flat over the next five years
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- Figure 13: Forecast volume of domestic holidays, 2019-19
- Tablet ownership reaches over half of UK adults
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- Figure 14: Personal smartphone and household tablet ownership, January 2012-June 2014
- Tripadvisor.co.uk and booking.com have a clear lead by unique visitors
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- Figure 15: Top 20 travel websites, by unique visitors (3-month moving average), August 2014
- Trivago the highest-spending advertiser so far in 2014
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- Figure 16: Top 20 travel companies, by advertising spend, 1 January-14 October 2014
- Big two continue to dominate the UK market by passengers licensed
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- Figure 17: Top 20 UK travel companies, ranked by ATOL passenger licences, October 2014
- On Holiday Group the largest failure of the year, but impact is limited
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- Figure 18: ATOL tour operator failures/closures in the UK, 1 January-20 October 2014
Who's Innovating?
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- Key points
- ebookers launches Bonus+ mobile-centric rewards programme
- TripAdvisor launches personalised search results
- Monarch Airlines adds ‘share’ button to boost social conversation
- Expedia launches a new tablet app with a combined single search feature
- Thomas Cook trials virtual reality content in-store
The Consumer – Holidays Taken
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- Key points
- Three quarters of adults have taken a holiday in the last 12 months
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- Figure 19: Holidays taken in the last 12 months, September 2014
- Financial barrier for overseas holidays is set to fall
The Consumer – Booking Method
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- Key points
- Three in 10 holidaymakers booked a pure package holiday…
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- Figure 20: Booking method used, September 2014
- …rising to four in 10 overseas holidaymakers
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- Figure 21: Booking method used, by holidays taken in the last 12 months, September 2014
- Over-65s and the retired are the most likely to have booked a package
The Consumer – Research Lead Time
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- Key points
- One in 10 holidaymakers started research less than a week before booking
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- Figure 22: Holiday research lead time, September 2014
- Research viewed by some as an enjoyable part of the experience
- Mobile growth could see the length of time spent doing research fall
- People start research further in advance for overseas holidays
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- Figure 23: Holiday research lead time, by holidays taken in the last 12 months, September 2014
The Consumer – Research Sources Used
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- Key points
- High search engine use provides a stage for Google to expand
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- Figure 24: Holiday research sources used, September 2014
- Overseas holidaymakers twice as likely to use a comparison site
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- Figure 25: Holiday research sources used, by holidays taken in the last 12 months, September 2014
- Silver surfers’ digital research habits are catching up
- Human interaction remains key to package holiday bookings
- Package brands need to nurture a viral recommendations culture
- Websites should integrate reviews to keep visitors from navigating away
- Impulse buyers are less likely to shop around
The Consumer – Devices Used for Research
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- Key points
- A quarter of holidaymakers used a smartphone or tablet for research
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- Figure 26: Devices used for research, September 2014
- Mobile use is highest among under-35s, students and urbanites
- People who do less research are twice as likely to research on mobile
- Brands need to facilitate seamless research across devices
The Consumer – Devices Used for Booking
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- Key points
- Smartphones or tablets used for last booking by 14%
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- Figure 27: Devices used for booking, September 2014
- Domestic holidaymakers are more likely to have booked via mobile
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- Figure 28: Devices used for booking, by holidays taken in the last 12 months, September 2014
- Under-35s are the most likely to book via mobile
- In-store sales conversion rates remain high
- Brands can leverage mobile to boost impulse purchases and upgrades
- Mobile bookers are more socially engaged with brands
The Consumer – Attitudes towards Researching and Booking Holidays
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- Key points
- Some scepticism over the value offered by travel agent staff
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- Figure 29: Attitudes towards researching and booking holidays, September 2014
- Overseas holidaymakers more likely to find price matching appealing
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- Figure 30: Attitudes towards researching and booking holidays, by holidays taken in the last 12 months, September 2014
- There is demand for a service that aids discovery and decision-making
- Mobile bookers more price-driven, but don’t want to invest time
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