Holiday Habits: How Brits Will Go on Holiday in 2019

The British love a getaway more than most, with Oyster.co.uk ranking the UK as a country with some of the most well-travelled citizens in the world. With millions of Brits travelling abroad annually to destinations such as southern Spain and Thailand, you’d think it would be difficult to pin down a general summary of how people in the UK approach recreational travel.

Fortunately, someone has already done just that. The release of the annual Holiday Habits Report, which can be found at https://www.abta.com/industry-zone/reports-and-publications, summarises how tens of thousands of our fellow countrymen tackled their holidays in 2018, with some surprising patterns and similarities throughout, as well as looking at bookings for the upcoming year. Read on to find out how Brits are likely to go on holiday in 2019.

Where We Go

Where Brits are going on holiday is changing fast. While traditional hotspots such as the Costa del Sol and Northern France are still popular, other destinations are starting to take the lead. For one thing, staycations are on the rise, with 66% of people taking a domestic UK holiday last year – the highest figures in over a decade.

This has been attributed both to the fall in the value of the pound and the increasing trendiness of local destinations such as Cornwall and the Isle of Skye. Trips to North America are down considerably, although holidays to far-flung spots like Dubai and Vietnam are skyrocketing.

What We Do

There are a number of activities which almost all Brits prefer to do on holiday. Rather than simply lazing on the beach, the vast majority of us prefer to go sightseeing and exploring cultural sites while on holiday. Brits are also spurning shopping while abroad, opting to spend their money instead on the “experience economy”, paying for meals in local restaurants and tickets to musical events.

One activity that may seem surprisingly popular is gambling, which has, in turn, fueled an uptick in bookings to destinations such as Las Vegas and Macau. Indeed, at home Brits play online in even bigger numbers than in land-based casinos, with popular online blackjack platforms such as https://games.paddypower.com/c/blackjack having vast appeal. Perhaps the reason for the soaring numbers is linked to the increased popularity for casino holidays, with Brits finding their feet in the race to 21 through the variety available online, before splashing out in these American and Asian gambling havens.

What We Spend

According to https://www.finder.com/uk/travel-money-statistics, British people spend as much as a quarter of their disposable income on holidays, putting them well-above their European neighbours. The average individual spends around £650 per trip abroad, while a holiday for a family of four costs an eye-watering £2000 on average. Despite these high figures, the majority of Brits surveyed for the Holiday Habits Report still prioritise holidays in their spending, regardless of the tricky political situation.

How much the UK spends on outbound tourism each year has been growing constantly, hitting an all-time high last year of £45.7 billion and showing no signs of slowing down. Part of this can again be attributed to the decline in the value of the pound, which means that Brits abroad, particularly in Europe, need to spend more to get the same value that they would’ve gotten two years previously. 

These figures present us with something of a mixed bag. Brits are spending more and going away more frequently, but also opting to stay at home more and spending a larger share of their income on holiday. One thing that is certain is that Brits love their holidays and that doesn’t look set to change anytime soon.