Brits believe travel market is ‘on pause’ but not permanently changed
A survey of 500 British travellers found 87% consider the travel market to be on pause rather than permanently transformed.
The poll, carried out in late April by luxury tour operator Overseas Leisure Group, found 80% of British travellers are already making plans for their next holiday and 41% said they would consider a holiday as early as this summer.
Most (91%) said they would travel by air for their next holiday and one in four said they would opt for staying at a trendy beach resort.
The survey also found 42% of respondents said they would be ready to make a booking now if they could book with no deposit or cancellation fee.
In response, Overseas Leisure Group has introduced a new initiative, Carefree Bookings, giving customers the chance to book 1,000 destinations and experiences without the need for a deposit and with no cancellation fee if travel plans change.
If payment isn’t made seven days prior to the arrival date to guarantee the reservation, the booking is automatically cancelled with no penalty.
The Carefree Bookings initiative applies to travel between June 1 and October 31 2020.
Participating companies include COMO Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Disney, Fairmont, Four Seasons, Hard Rock, Hyatt, InterContinental, Kimpton, Lowes, Marriott, Meridien, Peninsula, Ritz Carlton, Rosewood, St Regis, and Westin Hotels and Resorts.
Felix Brambilla, CEO of Overseas Leisure Group, said: "With millions of hospitality related jobs on the line, it was deemed essential to obtain vital insight from travellers themselves. Our nationwide survey offers an excellent indication for which direction we can expect to see the UK travel market head following the current wave of coronavirus.
"After more than six weeks of confinement, dreams of resuming our adventures are increasingly front-of-mind. We are seeing a higher-than-usual interest in more secluded staycations, away from the crowds, and domestic destinations where regulations are less likely to be an obstacle. Our network of travel advisors came up with Carefree Bookings as an early solution to allow travel planning again in response to these revealing survey results."
Image courtesy of Overseas Leisure Group
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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