What you need to know
2014 was a difficult year for domestic tourism comparative to the boom the industry has seen following the economic crash. The industry was hit hard by the poor weather as well as the strength of the pound, both of which helped encourage people to take their holidays abroad rather than at home. 2015 looks set though to be a better year for domestic tourism, aided by particularly good weather at the start of the year and the Rugby World Cup in the autumn.
There is a general concern regarding domestic tourism that, as the economy recovers, the industry is set to slump. However, Mintel’s research highlights the positive feeling people still have towards domestic holidays, with many wishing to explore the UK further. This suggests the economic downturn may have shifted attitudes in regards to domestic holidays, enabling people to better see the value of taking a trip at home.
The importance of affordable accommodation for domestic holidays is also clear from Mintel’s consumer findings, as it is the primary factor influencing destination choice. Airbnb is gaining more prominence within the market; appealing particularly to younger people and a key domestic tourism demographic of families with young children.
Covered in this report
This report examines holidays taken in the UK by its residents. These must constitute a stay of at least one night and do not include business trips, visits to stay with friends and relatives or stays solely for events such as weddings or funerals.
Data on the size and segmentation of the market are for Great Britain rather than the United Kingdom (ie Northern Ireland is not included).
An adult, for the purposes of Mintel’s research, is anyone aged 16 years or over.
The standard travel and tourism definitions used in the terminology of this report are as follows:
Tourism is any travel which involves an overnight stay away from home.
A holiday is a subjectively defined form of tourism, as defined by the tourist in response to surveys such as the IPS. A holiday can be distinguished from other leisure travel such as visits to friends and relatives (VFR) or shopping trips.
A long holiday is a holiday of four nights or more away from home; a short break is a holiday that involves one to three nights away from home.
Short-haul refers to air holidays within Europe, dominated by flights to Mediterranean resorts but including the Canaries, which are treated as a part of the Spanish market. Long-haul, therefore, refers to holidays outside Europe.
An inclusive tour, or package holiday, is defined as the simultaneous sale of at least two elements of a holiday to the traveller, eg fares on public transport (eg flights) and commercial accommodation (eg hotel or self-catering apartment). Other elements, such as meals or excursions, are not essential to the definition of an inclusive tour. The term ‘all-inclusive’ is used to describe a special type of resort holiday in which food, drink, excursions and other services are provided as part of the total holiday cost.
An independent holiday is one in which the traveller organises and books transport and accommodation from separate sources (eg a channel ferry crossing and a caravan site in France).
Seat- or flight-only is a type of independent holiday, and the terms are used to denote holidays in which travellers only purchase a return fare and thereafter book their own accommodation, car hire etc.
