Elegant Resorts’ Summer Booking Trends 2025

 

As the summer holiday season approaches, leading luxury operator Elegant Resorts is witnessing a significant shift in travellers’ habits. There is a surge in last-minute bookings and September departures, as well as an increase in long-haul holidays to bucket list destinations.

 

Elegant Resorts’ Key Summer Booking Trends

 

Top Five Destinations 2025 to Date

1. Barbados
2. Maldives
3. Greece
4. Spain
5. Antigua

 

Spike in September Departures

 

Elegant Resorts is seeing a shift in booking patterns, with people looking to go away outside of the school holiday period. Travellers who benefit from this flexibility are more able to escape heatwaves, crowds and price hikes.

 

Booking for Better Value

 

Clients are more mindful of how theyare spending their money. Due to this, the tour operator is increasingly seeing clients explore long-haul alternatives for summer when desired European options aren’t available. Destinations like Dubai and the Caribbean, for instance, have seen a rise in summer interest. While clients are indeed cost-conscious, Elegant Resorts has observed an increase in average booking value this year, rising to £23,000 from £19,500 last year.

 

Shortened Lead Times for Summer andlonger lead times for 2026

 

Late enquiries made in June were forEurope holidays, with 15% of these departing in June, 40% in July and August, and20% in September – showing a shift to shorter lead for summer bookings than inprevious years. However, Elegant Resorts is reporting an 18% increase onbooking numbers for 2026 versus this time last year for 2025 departures, thismay be linked to clients looking to secure the best prices for the holidays that they want.

 

Multi-generational and Villa Holidays

 

Multi-generational and group bookings represent more than a quarter of Elegant Resorts’ sales so far this summer – rising to 26% compared to 19% last year. Villa enquiries have increased by 60% compared to the same time last year, with half of them relating to theCaribbean and 30% to Europe.

 

Tailor-made Long-Haul Holidays Surge

 

As travellers place more importance on cultural immersion and personalisation, long-haul holidays have increased by68% year-on-year.

 

Previous research conducted by the operator suggests that motivations driving this trend include food, soft adventure and wellness. Destinations like Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Kenya andAustralia are selling particularly well, all up over 200% compared to this timelast year and Morocco up 77%. Thailand, Vietnam and Japan still command a strong appeal, whilst island hopping in French Polynesia – combining Bora Bora, Moorea and Tetiaroa – is also proving popular.

 

Elegant Resorts’ Managing Director,Gordon McCreadie, commented: “Booking patterns have been evolving over the past few years but we are seeing quite a shift for 2025. People are swapping the traditional European summer for longer haul destinations, September departures, and a range of new experiences replacing the usual beach holiday. A range of factors come into play including availability, air fares, extreme weather conditions and overcrowding. We have worked hard at expanding our offering worldwide over the past few months so we can keep on delighting our clients and help them create those special memories”.

 

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