Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Scope of the Report
Executive Summary
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- The market
- The number of domestic trips stagnated in 2016
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- Figure 1: Estimated domestic holiday market volume and value*, 2011-21
- Strong growth in overseas trips in 2016
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- Figure 2: Overseas holiday market volume and value*, 2011-21
- The consumer
- Consumers to spend more time looking for deals
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- Figure 3: Holiday behaviour following the Brexit vote, March 2017
- Older consumers prefer human contact but this will change over time
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- Figure 4: Preferred channel for contacting a travel company, March 2017
- Which is booked first; accommodation or travel?
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- Figure 5: When holiday components were booked, by holiday type, March 2017
- Over a half book 1-4 months before departure
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- Figure 6: How long booking was made before departure, March 2017
- Mobile use continues to trend upwards
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- Figure 7: Device used to book holiday, March 2017
- Sharp spike in the usage of online travel aggregators
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- Figure 8: Websites/apps used to book holiday, March 2017
- Google leverages its position as the dominant search engine to serve travellers
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- Figure 9: Websites/apps used to book holiday, March 2017
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Mobile usage continues to increase
- The facts
- The implications
- Google and Facebook release features to draw in holidaymakers
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Domestic trips fall slightly in 2016
- Strong growth in overseas trips in 2016
- Consumers still plan to book holidays as confidence remains high
- Inflation reduces consumers’ disposable income
- Bank of England expects inflation to hit 3% in 2017
- Passenger protections in light of Brexit
Market Outlook
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- Domestic trips fall slightly in 2016
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- Figure 10: Estimated domestic holiday market volume and value*, 2011-21
- Strong growth in overseas trips in 2016
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- Figure 11: Overseas holiday market volume and value*, 2011-21
- Forecast methodology
Market Drivers
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- Consumers still plan to book holidays as confidence remains high
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- Figure 12: Consumer plans to book a holiday within the next three months, April 2013-17
- Figure 13: Consumers confidence levels for the coming 12 months, April 2009-17
- Inflation reduces consumers’ disposable income
- Oil is relatively cheap but the Pound remains low
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- Figure 14: Spot exchange rate for Pound against the Euro and US Dollar, April 2016 to April 2017
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- Figure 15: Weekly Cushing, OK WTI Spot Price FOB (Dollars per Barrel)
- Brexit and the travel market
- How will Brexit affect the new Package Travel Directive?
- The falling Pound means travel companies can impose surcharges
- Denied Boarding Regulation could be called into question
- Passenger protections in light of Brexit
Market Share
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- TUI and Jet2holidays see double-digit in the year to January 2017
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- Figure 16: Passengers licensed under ATOL protection, by top 10 ATOL holders, 2011-17
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Google launches its travel planning app Trips
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- Figure 17: Google Trip features, May 2017
- New exploratory Google Earth unveiled to inspire travellers
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- Figure 18: Google Earth as seen in the Google Chrome web browser, May 2017
- Figure 19: Options available in Google Earth’s Voyager menu, May 2017
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- Figure 20: Landmarks shown with yellow pins in lower Manhattan, May 2017
- Travel app Lola raises $15 million from investors
- Creating Google Street View imagery with new 360-degree cameras
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- Figure 21: Google’s street view ready tools, May 2017
- Startup BoltFare aims to challenge Skyscanner and Kayak
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- Figure 22: BoltFare operating via Facebook Messenger, May 2017
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- More effort to get deals and discounts
- Older consumers prefer human contact but this will change over time
- More customisation and diversification needed in all-inclusive packages
- Over half book 1-4 months before departure
- Mobile use continues to trend upwards
Holidays Taken and Brexit Attitudes
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- Holidaymaker profile; half the population have been overseas
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- Figure 23: Types of holidays taken in the last 12 months, March 2017
- More effort to get deals and discounts
- A boost for staycations? A third will holiday in the UK instead of abroad
- All-inclusive packages could increase but face challenges in Spain
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- Figure 24: Holiday behaviour following the Brexit vote, March 2017
Communication with the Customer
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- Email is the preferred contact method for consumers
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- Figure 25: Preferred channel for contacting a travel company, March 2017
- Older consumers prefer human contact but this will change over time
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- Figure 26: Preferred channel for contacting a travel company, March 2017
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- Figure 27: Personal ownership of consumer technology products, by age, April 2015 versus December 2016
- Usage of live chat services still low but potential for growth
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- Figure 28: Facebook Messenger’s GUI interface for seat selection
- Potential problems for Messenger lead to a revamp
When Holiday Components were Booked
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- More customisation and diversification needed in all-inclusive packages
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- Figure 29: When holiday components were booked, March 2017
- Which is booked first; accommodation or travel?
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- Figure 30: When holiday components were booked, by holiday type, March 2017
Booking Lead Time
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- Over half book 1-4 months before departure
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- Figure 31: How long booking was made before departure, March 2017
- Figure 32: How long booking was made before departure, domestic versus overseas, March 2017
- A market for spontaneous bookings
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- Figure 33: How long booking was made before departure, by last holiday taken, March 2017
Holiday Booking Channels
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- Mobile use continues to trend upwards
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- Figure 34: Holiday booking channels, March 2017
- Mobile popular for short-breaks while travel agents popular for long holidays
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- Figure 35: Holiday booking channels, by holiday length, March 2017
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- Figure 36: Holiday booking channels, by booking lead time, March 2017
- The rise of mobile – tech-giants adapting tools for travel
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- Figure 37: Holiday booking channels, by last holiday taken, March 2017
Online Bookings and Research
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- Sharp spike in the usage of online travel aggregators
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- Figure 38: Websites/apps used to book holiday, March 2017
- Who is using online travel agents/aggregators?
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- Figure 39: Websites/apps used to book holiday, March 2017
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- Figure 40: Proportion of consumers describing their financial situation as healthy, by age, March 2017
Online Research Sources
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- Customer review sites are popular in the research process
- Google leverages its position as the dominant search engine to serve travellers
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- Figure 41: Websites/apps used to book holiday, March 2017
- Facebooks aims to challenge Google in the travel space
- Concerns about Google’s Dominance in travel distribution
- New Dynamic Ads for Travel could boost social media engagement
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
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