Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Consumer appetite for travel is undiminished
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- Figure 1: Holiday booking and intentions, February 2016-October 2019
- Companies and brands
- Adventuremoons, LGBT+ weddings at sea and divorce holidays
- The consumer
- ‘Big birthday’ bashes are the most popular occasions for a holiday
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- Figure 2: Special occasion holidays taken in the past five years, October 2019
- Travellers go further and stay longer on special occasions
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- Figure 3: Duration of most recent special occasion holiday taken, October 2019
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- Figure 4: Destination of most recent special occasion holiday taken, October 2019
- City breaks are favoured for birthday celebrations
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- Figure 5: Type of most recent special occasion holiday taken, October 2019
- Multi-gen and skip-gen holidays
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- Figure 6: Future special occasion holidays – plans & preferences, October 2019
- Experience gifts are a popular add-on to special occasion trips
- Proposal holidays
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- Figure 7: Future special occasion holidays – marketing opportunities, October 2019
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Later marriage offers growing opportunities
- The facts
- The implications
- Cohabitation honeymoons
- The facts
- The implications
- The empty nester holiday
- The facts
- The implications
- The jobbymoon
- The facts
- The implications
- A lifetime of occasions
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Holiday demand still strong
- Ageing population will drive increase in milestone celebration breaks
- Silver splicer and LGBT+ wedding trends offer growing opportunities
- Rising wedding costs make overseas nuptials attractive to Millennials
- Honeymoons and mini-moons
Market Background
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- Consumers are reining in spending but lower prices are helping to relieve pressure on households
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- Figure 8: UK average weekly earnings (excluding bonuses)* vs CPI inflation, percentage change year-on-year, January 2017-October 2019
- Pound stages mini-recovery after summer slump
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- Figure 9: Pound versus euro exchange rate, June 2016-November 2019
- Holidays remain a high priority despite uncertainty
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- Figure 10: Holiday booking and intentions, February 2016-October 2019
- Holiday growth has stalled but volumes are still near record levels
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- Figure 11: Trends in the number and value of domestic holidays taken by UK residents, 2014-18
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- Figure 12: Trends in the number and value of overseas holidays taken by UK residents, 2014-18
- Older age milestones will offer the biggest opportunities
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- Figure 13: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, by gender, 2013-23
- Figure 14: Long-term projections in the age structure of the UK population, by gender, 2016-41
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- Figure 15: Number of people aged 90 and over in England, 2002-18
- Skip-gen travel
- Marriage rate is stabilising after long-term decline
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- Figure 16: Number of marriages and marriage rate in England & Wales, 1970-2016
- Silver splicers
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- Figure 17: Number of people entering opposite-sex marriages in England & Wales, by gender and age, 2007-16
- Same-sex marriage is creating a new product area for travel brands
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- Figure 18: Number of people entering same-sex marriages in England & Wales, by gender and age, 2014-16
- Civil partnerships are set to grow again following a change in the law
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- Figure 19: Number of civil partnerships in England & Wales, 2006-18
- Cohabitation honeymoons
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- Figure 20: Number of people cohabiting in England & Wales, 2002-18
- The cost of getting hitched
- Honeymoons, mini-moons & maxi-moons
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- Figure 21: National Wedding Survey top 10 honeymoon destinations, 2019
- One in six couples have an overseas weddings
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- Figure 22: Estimated number of trips abroad made by UK residents to get married, 2012-18
- Popular wedding destinations
- Babymoon breaks
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- Figure 23: Number of live births and general fertility rate* in England & Wales, 1970-2018
- Silver splitters
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- Figure 24: Number of divorces of opposite-sex couples in England & Wales, 2007-17
- Figure 25: Number of people getting divorced in England & Wales, by gender and age, 2007-17
- Post-divorce travel
- Solo-moons
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Personalised weddings
- Large group weddings
- LGBT+ weddings at sea
- Adventurous honeymooners
- Pop the question packages
- Divorce holidays
- Experience gifting
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Long-haul/luxury travel brands are most likely to market special occasion holidays
- New wedding products
- Adventuremoons
- Renewing vows at sea
- Pop the question holidays
- Virgin launches divorce holidays
- Gift experiences
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- 54% of adults have taken a special occasion holiday
- Milestone birthdays are the most popular occasion
- 6% of adults have been on honeymoon in the past five years
- Special occasion holidays are more likely to be overseas
- Personalisation is key
- Multi-gen celebration holidays
- Gifting and marketing opportunities
Special Occasion Holiday Taking
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- Milestone birthdays are the most popular reason for a special occasion holiday
- 12% of adults have taken a holiday for a ‘marital occasion’ in the past five years
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- Figure 26: Special occasion holidays taken in the past five years, October 2019
- Birth breaks
- Celebrating success
- Multiple celebrations
Special Occasion Holiday Taking – Destination
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- Figure 27: Most recent special occasion holiday taken, October 2019
- Special occasion holidays are twice as likely to be long-haul as normal holidays
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- Figure 28: Destination of most recent special occasion holiday taken, October 2019
- Older special occasion travellers are especially likely to go long-haul
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- Figure 29: Most recent special occasion holiday taken, by destination, October 2019
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Special Occasion Holiday Taking – Duration
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- Special occasion travellers stay longer than average
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- Figure 30: Duration of most recent special occasion holiday taken, October 2019
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- Figure 31: Duration of most recent special occasion holiday taken, by destination, October 2019
- Figure 32: Special occasion holidays, by duration of most recent trip, October 2019
Special Occasion Holiday Taking – Holiday Type
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- City breaks, beach holidays, cottages/villas & cruises are the most popular special occasion holidays
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- Figure 33: Type of most recent special occasion holiday taken, October 2019
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- Figure 34: Special occasion holidays, by type of most recent holiday taken, October 2019
- Holiday type demographics for special occasion trips
Future Special Occasion Holiday Taking
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- Big birthdays in the second half of life are set to be the largest growth area
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- Figure 35: Special occasion holidays planned in the past five years, October 2019
Special Occasion Holiday Taking – Plans and Preferences
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- Personal touches are key
- Rekindling memories
- Retirees, honeymooners and jobbymooners plan once-in-a-lifetime holidays
- One in four adults expect to take a multi-generational holiday to mark a family occasion
- Photoshoots
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- Figure 36: Future special occasion holidays – plans & preferences, October 2019
Special Occasion Holiday Taking – Further Opportunities
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- Travel experiences preferred to presents
- Half of under-40s would like to receive targeted offers in the run-up to a big occasion
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- Figure 37: Future special occasion holidays – marketing opportunities, October 2019
- Empty nester and (finally) nest-leaver holidays
- Proposal holidays
- Strong interest in weddings abroad
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- Figure 38: Future special occasion holidays – further opportunities, October 2019
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Definitions
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
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