Cost of living pressure and summer heat waves are leading many people to book holidays outside the traditional peak summer period, suggests a survey by the UK's travel agency association and released online. World Travel Market in London. The study of 2.000 UK adults commissioned by travel organization Abta indicated that May and June will be the most popular months for overseas breaks in 2024.
The proportion of respondents who said they would travel in each of the months was 21%. This was just ahead of October (19%) and the traditional peak school holiday months of July and August (both 17%), when travel is generally more expensive.
Abta said the “growing trend of year-round travel” could be linked to “the search for value for money”. Many vacation companies have extended their summer seasons or increased capacity in the so-called "shoulder season," the organization said.
About 72% of people surveyed said the cost of living will affect their travel plans. The survey suggested that in the 12 months to August, 52% of people went on holiday abroad and took an average of 1,4 foreign holidays each, which is in line with pre-pandemic levels. .
Almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents said they plan to travel abroad in the next 12 months. Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer has noted that tourists are "very value conscious" and many choose to book earlier or later in the year if they have "the flexibility to travel when they want", such as those who do not have children in the school.
“Destinations are responding to that. "They realize that there is a market in the shoulder seasons, it is a general phenomenon that the season is flattening and I think that will continue." The survey was conducted by research company The Nursery in the last two weeks of August. It was a representative sample weighted to reflect the UK population.
In August, Sebastian Ebel, chief executive of TUI, predicted that more tourists will opt for cooler destinations and times of year when the temperature is not the highest. He said the company will focus more on places like the Nordic countries, Belgium and the Netherlands.
