Table of Contents
Introduction and Abbreviations
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- Definitions
- Consumer research
- ACORN
- Abbreviations
Premier Insights
Summary of Key Report Findings
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- Recovering domestic holiday market
- The growth in the city breaks market is predicted to remain slow
- Future demographic changes augur well for the industry
- Key market trends
- London is still the top destination but overseas cities are narrowing the gap
- Key consumer findings
- Moving towards designer holidays
Market Factors
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- Personal disposable income (PDI), consumer expenditure (CONEXP) and consumer confidence
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- Figure 1: Gross domestic product (GDP), personal disposable income (PDI) and consumer expenditure (CONEXP), 1999-2007
- Changes in the UK population structure
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- Figure 2: UK population structure, by age, 1999-2007
- Figure 3: UK adult population structure, by lifestage, 1999-2007
- Rising affluence is a boon to the industry
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- Figure 4: UK adult population strcture, by socio-economic groups, 1999-2007
- Britons are working longer hours and are taking more short breaks
- The emergence of low-cost airlines
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- Figure 5: Percentage change in scheduled passenger uplift of main low-cost airlines versus railway passenger journeys of long-distance operators, 2000-02
- The Internet is now a key medium for city break purchases
- The British weather and seasonality
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- Figure 6: Average regional temperatures, 2002
- The domestic short breaks market
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- Figure 8: The UK domestic short breaks market, 1999-2004
- The domestic city breaks market
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- Figure 9: The domestic city breaks market, 2000-04
- Key market trends
- Multiple city breaks are now the norm
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- Figure 10: Proportion of UK holidays taken by city/short break holidaymakers, 2000-03
- The Internet is increasing in popularity as a booking channel
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- Figure 11: Booking methods used for arranging UK city/short breaks, 2000-03
- Hotels still the number one choice
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- Figure 12: Accommodation used by consumers on a UK city/short break, 2000-03
- Group sizes are growing
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- Figure 13: Number of group members* on a UK city/short break, 2000-03
- Most UK city breaks are made by car
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- Figure 14: Main method of travel used by consumers on UK city/short breaks, 2000-03
The Supply Structure
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- Accommodation suppliers
- Hotels
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- Figure 15: Market level distribution of hotel groups in the UK, 1998-2002
- Major chains
- Independents and consortia
- Holiday centres, village parks and caravan sites
- Rail operators
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- Figure 16: Regional destinations of UK tourists on city/short breaks by rail, 2003
- Coach and bus operators
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- Figure 17: Regional destinations of UK tourists on city/short breaks by coach, 2003
- Scheduled airlines
- Domestic city break tour operators
- UK breaks specialists
- Internet travel
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- Figure 18: Amount spent on flights/holidays purchased over the Internet in the last three months, 2002-03
The Consumer
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- Figure 19: Cities visited for a holiday, November 1997, January 2000, January 2002 and November 2003
- Growth in domestic trips now stagnant
- London is still the top domestic city
- Foreign city breaks are now part of an established holiday repertoire
- City breaks taken in the last five years
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- Figure 20: City breaks taken in the last five years, by gender, age and socio-economic groups, November 2003
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- Figure 21: City breaks taken in the last five years, by detailed lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, November 2003
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- Figure 22: City breaks taken in the last five years, by marital status, working status, region and ACORN categories, November 2003
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- Figure 23: City breaks taken in the last five years, by media usage, supermarket usage and commercial TV viewing, November 2003
- City breaks in London, Blackpool, Edinburgh and York
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- Figure 24: Top five city breaks in the UK, by gender, age and socio-economic groups, November 2003
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- Figure 25: Top five city breaks in the UK, by detailed lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, November 2003
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- Figure 26: Top five city breaks in the UK, by marital status, working status, region and ACORN categories, November 2003
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- Figure 27: Top five city breaks in the UK, by media usage, supermarket usage and commercial TV viewing, November 2003
- City breaks in Brighton, Bath, Oxford, Glasgow and other cities
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- Figure 28: Next most popular city breaks in the UK, by gender, age and socio-economic groups, November 2003
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- Figure 29: Next most popular city breaks in the UK, by detailed lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, November 2003
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- Figure 30: Next most popular city breaks in the UK, by marital status, working status, region and ACORN categories, November 2003
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- Figure 31: Next most popular city breaks in the UK, by media usage, supermarket usage and commercial TV viewing, November 2003
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Consumer Attitudes and Targeting Opportunities
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- Figure 32: Attitudes regarding city breaks, November 2003
- Flying is the most popular way to get to destinations
- Consumers prefer to go abroad
- Independent, customised city breaks are becoming popular
- City breaks consumers take advantage of promotions
- Personal preferences determine the destination
- The majority of city breaks last for one to three days
- For full demographics, see Consumer Attitudes and Targeting Opportunities – Detailed Demographics.
- Attitudes by the top five UK cities visited
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- Figure 33: Attitudes regarding UK city breaks, by visitors to London, Blackpool, Edinburgh and York, November 2003
- London
- Blackpool
- Edinburgh
- York
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- Figure 34: Attitudes regarding UK city breaks, by visitors to Brighton, Bath, Oxford, Glasgow and other UK cities, November 2003
- Brighton
- Bath
- Oxford
- Glasgow
- Other UK cities
- UK city break target groups
- The homebodies (38% of sample or 18.4 million people)
- Family Travellers (23% of sample or 11.2 million people)
- Price-conscious (22% of sample or 10.7 million people)
- Convenience seekers (17% of sample or 8.3 million people)
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- Figure 35: Consumer types, by gender, age and socio-economic status, November 2003
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- Figure 36: Consumer types, by lifestage, Mintel’s Special Groups and the presence of children, November 2003
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- Figure 37: Consumer types, by marital status, working status, region and ACORN categories, November 2003
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- Figure 38: Consumer types, by media usage, supermarket usage and commercial TV viewing, November 2003
- UK cities visited by the four consumer types
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- Figure 39: Consumer types, by UK cities, November 2003
- Optimum targeting of UK city breaks
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- Figure 40: Key target groups for UK cities, November 2003
- London
- Blackpool
- Edinburgh
- York
- Brighton
- Bath
- Oxford
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Consumer Attitudes and Targeting Opportunities – Detailed Demographics
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- Attitudes pertaining to transport
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- Figure 41: Attitudes regarding transport, by gender, age and socio-economic groups, November 2003
- Figure 42: Attitudes regarding transport, by detailed lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, November 2003
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- Figure 43: Attitudes regarding transport, by marital and working status, region and ACORN categories, November 2003
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- Figure 44: Attitudes regarding transport, by media usage, supermarket usage and commercial TV viewing, November 2003
- Attitudes pertaining to the destination
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- Figure 45: Attitudes regarding city break destinations, by gender, age and socio-economic groups, November 2003
- Figure 46: Attitudes regarding city break destinations, by detailed lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, November 2003
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- Figure 47: Attitudes regarding city break destinations, by marital status, working status, region and ACORN categories, November 2003
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- Figure 48: Attitudes regarding city break destinations, by media usage, supermarket usage and commercial TV viewing, November 2003
- Preferences for city breaks
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- Figure 49: City break preferances, by gender, age and socio-economic groups, November 2003
- Figure 50: City break preferances, by detailed lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups and the presence of children, November 2003
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- Figure 51: City break preferances, by marital status, working status, region and ACORN categories, November 2003
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- Figure 52: City break preferances, by media usage, supermarket usage and commercial TV viewing, November 2003
- Booking methods
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- Figure 53: Booking methods, by gender, age and socio-economic groups, November 2003
- Figure 54: Booking methods, by lifestage, Mintel’s Special Groups and the presence of children, November 2003
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- Figure 55: Booking methods, by marital status, working status, region and ACORN categories, November 2003
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- Figure 56: Booking methods, by media usage, supermarket usage and commercial TV viewing, November 2003
- Length of stay
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- Figure 57: Length of stay, by gender, age and socio-economic groups, November 2003
- Figure 58: Length of stay, by detailed lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups and the presence of children, November 2003
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- Figure 59: Length of stay, by marital status, working status, region and ACORN categories, November 2003
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- Figure 60: Length of stay, by media usage, supermarket usage and commercial TV viewing, November 2003
The Future
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- Foreign versus domestic UK city breaks
- Consumers want quality but at fair, value for money prices
- Diminishing profit margins
- Broadening of services
Forecast
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- Figure 61: Forecast of the UK city breaks, by value and volume, 2004-09
- The booming economy has a positive influence on the market
- Britons are taking more breaks to attain a work/life balance
- To stay in the UK or go abroad?
- Factors incorporated
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