Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Covered in this Report
Executive Summary
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- Holidays achieve record high despite climate of uncertainty
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- Figure 1: Volume forecast of domestic holiday bookings, 2012-22
- Figure 2: Volume forecast of overseas holiday bookings, 2012-22
- OTAs take on the big three in package holiday market
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- Figure 3: Passengers licensed under ATOL protection, by top 10 ATOL holders, April 2018
- Booking.com dominates OTA/aggregator sector overall
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- Figure 4: Travel comparison websites/apps used to book holidays online in the last 12 months, April 2018
- Cook remains leading travel retailer despite closures
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- Figure 5: Use of travel agent shops for holiday booking, September 2017
- Consumer demand for holidays remains buoyant
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- Figure 6: Holiday Taking in the past 12 months, March 2017 versus April 2018
- A third of holidays booked 4-8 weeks before travel
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- Figure 7: When last holiday was booked, April 2018
- Mobile takes off
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- Figure 8: How last holiday was booked, March 2015- April 2018
- Rise in online tour operator bookings
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- Figure 9: Online booking channels used, April 2018
- Cost-cutting under-45s
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- Figure 10: Attitudes towards managing the cost of holidays, April 2018
- The Instagrammable holiday
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- Figure 11: Further attitudes towards planning and booking holidays, April 2018
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Mobile booking reaches a tipping point amongst younger travellers
- The facts
- The implications
- Time to charge?
- The facts
- The implications
- TV & film opportunities
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Holidays reached record levels in 2017
- Brexit uncertainty could impact on market growth
- Consumers still spending but more value-conscious
- Holidays still a high priority
- Holidaymakers looking for destinations where pound will go further
- Oil price rises not yet affecting fares
Market Size and Forecast
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- Short break boom lifts domestic tourism to record level
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- Figure 12: Volume and value* of domestic holiday bookings, 2012-22
- Overseas holidays reach new high
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- Figure 13: Volume and value* of overseas holiday bookings, 2012-22
- Forecast
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- Figure 14: Volume forecast of domestic holiday bookings, 2012-22
- Figure 15: Value* forecast of domestic holiday bookings, 2012-22
- Figure 16: Volume forecast of overseas holiday bookings, 2012-22
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- Figure 17: Value* forecast of overseas holiday bookings, 2012-22
Market Background
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- Consumers cautious but still spending
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- Figure 18: UK average weekly earnings (excluding bonuses)* vs CPI inflation, percentage change year-on-year, January 2014-March 2018
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- Figure 19: The financial well-being index*, January 2015-February 2018
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- Figure 20: The financial confidence index*, January 2015-February 2018
- Travel remains a high priority
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- Figure 21: Holiday taking & holiday planning, January 2015-February 2018
- Fall in pound has not stopped people travelling abroad
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- Figure 22: Spot exchange rate, pound sterling vs euro and US dollar, June 2016-April 2018
- Rising oil prices could mean higher fares – but not yet
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- Figure 23: Average annual European Brent Crude oil prices 2013-2017, and average monthly PRICES JANUARY- April 2018
Companies and Products – What You Need to Know
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- 59% of TUI holidays sold online
- Jet2holidays focussing on 3rd party stores as well as online
- Thomas Cook reports surge in mobile booking
- Booking.com accounts for half of OTA/aggregator trips
- Thomas Cook is market leader in travel shop retail
- Apps, bots and payment tools
Market Share
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- Jet2holidays disrupts TUI/Thomas Cook dominance
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- Figure 24: Passengers licensed under ATOL protection, by top 10 ATOL holders, 2012-18
- Booking.com used by over half of OTA bookers
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- Figure 25: Travel comparison websites/apps used to book holidays online in the last 12 months, April 2018
- Travel shops continue to decline
- New travel and retail partnerships
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- Figure 26: Use of travel agent shops for holiday booking, September 2017
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Initiatives to help manage costs
- Apps begin to take off
- Rise of the bot
- Harnessing the power of influentials
- Culture Trip launches OTA
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- European trips and short breaks are up
- Most popular booking window is 1-2 months before travel
- Last minute bookers and long-term planners
- Online smartphone bookings have taken off in past 12 months
- Offline booking has also risen
- OTAs retain leading market share
- Helping the ‘holiday hassled’
- Power of the screen
Holiday Taking
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- Growth in short-haul and short breaks in past 12 months
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- Figure 27: Holiday Taking in the past 12 months, April 2018 and March 2017
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- Figure 28: Last holiday taken, April 2018
- City breaks and beach are most popular choices
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- Figure 29: Type of last holiday taken, April 2018
Holiday Booking Times
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- A thirds of holidays booked 1-2 months before travel…
- …but almost a fifth book less than a month in advance
- Tempting early bookers with incentives
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- Figure 30: When last holiday was booked, April 2018
Holiday Booking Channels
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- Online booking has flattened but mobile shift has accelerated
- Mobile surge driven by Millennials
- Smartphone bookers more likely to take short breaks
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- Figure 31: How last holiday was booked, March 2015- April 2018
- Counter-trend towards offline booking
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- Figure 32: Type of holiday booked by booking channel, April 2018
- OTA share remains steady but tour operators see sharp rise in online bookings
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- Figure 33: Online booking channels used, April 2018
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- Figure 34: Online booking channels used by holiday taken, April 2018
- Almost half of city breakers booking online use OTAs
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- Figure 35: Online booking channels used by holiday type, April 2018
- Rise in online tour operator booking amongst most affluent groups
Holiday Planning and Booking – Attitudes & Behaviour
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- A fifth see holiday planning as a hassle
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- Figure 36: Attitudes towards planning holidays, April 2018
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- Figure 37: Attitudes towards planning holidays, by demographics, April 2018
- Under-45s most likely to adopt cost-saving strategies
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- Figure 38: Attitudes towards managing the cost of holidays, April 2018
- On screen inspiration
- Power of the selfie
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- Figure 39: Further attitudes towards planning and booking holidays, April 2018
- VR & chatbots appeal to youngest generation
- Well-off, time-pressed travellers would pay for planning and booking
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Definitions
- Abbreviations
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Figure 40: Domestic holidays, volume forecast, 2017-22
- Figure 41: Domestic holidays, value* forecast, 2017-22
- Figure 42: overseas holidays, volume forecast, 2017-22
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- Figure 43: Overseas holidays, value* forecast, 2017-22
- Forecast methodology
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