Index shows dip in holiday confidence
Holiday confidence has not risen among British consumers, despite a more positive economic outlook and the strength of the pound.
The latest quarterly Holiday Confidence Index from First Rate Exchange Services found that while significantly more people expect a recovery in the British economy – 35% compared with 31% in March and 13% in March 2013 – this has not stretched to attitudes towards booking an overseas holiday.
Instead, the index, which is based on responses from 5,052 consumers about six key measures of holiday confidence, reveals an index fall of one point to 43 since March.
Pointing to a mood of caution, there has been marginal 1% drop to 56% in the numbers of consumers who intend to travel abroad on holiday in the coming year.
"The impulse to book a holiday abroad is bound to be linked to individual feelings about job security and personal finances," said Alistair Rennie, First Rate Exchange Services head of innovation & insight.
"Confidence about these factors has remained largely unchanged since March and could explain why the growing view that our economy is on the up is not mirrored by more positive views about holidaying abroad."
The index also found that fewer people believe trips abroad to be good value for money – 52% now compared with 54% in March.
Slightly fewer people rate holidays abroad as important (63% compared with 64%), while there has been a decline on those who list ATOL protection as their main priority (68% compared with 70% in March).
But 54% of consumers have already booked their first overseas trip and nearly a third of them have also booked a second one.
When it comes to holiday spending, almost a quarter of consumers expect booking costs to rise in the coming year and, despite the powerful pound, one-in-five also anticipate spending more while abroad.
However, they are not intending to increase the amount of travel cash they take with them, which indicates that the gap may be bridged by payment on credit and debit cards.
While 76% now prefer to book holidays online – rising to 79% of 18-24 year-olds – there has been a two percentage point rise since March in the numbers who would rather book face-to-face or on the telephone.
Two-in-five bookings are made independently, a trend that is also more marked among younger consumers.
But more people (42%) pick some form of package holiday, including cruises and all-inclusives, for their first holiday.
The Summer 2014 report can be obtained by emailing [email protected]
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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