Each year, ABTA conducts wide-reaching research to find out why, when, where, how and if we travel, which is compiled into the annual ‘Holiday Habits’ report. Although the first report was conducted pre-pandemic, it was influential in understanding how travel patterns had changed, and what travellers’ priorities are and were as travel restarted.
Now we are several years down the road, and as travel patterns evolve, we’re pleased that many of the findings of the report follow our own data in that travelling still remains the utmost importance, that a travel professional is valued and that there remains an active interest in the impact of the travel we take.
Where we travel to…
As this is a national survey, it should come as no surprise as to where the most travelled destinations are, and these very rarely change. Spain – and by some margin remains the nation’s most popular destination, followed by France, Italy, the US and Greece. An interesting addition to the top 10 is Australia – that’s 7% of travellers headed down under, which may surprise. Another interesting one on the top ten was Austria, of course, a winter sports and increasingly a summer destination in itself.
Booking with a travel professional…
As part of the research, ABTA also ask the top reasons as to why travellers book with a travel professional, and I’m sure you can resonate with some of the reasons the nation gave overall.
Over a fifth (22%) of travellers said that they had a better holiday when they used a travel professional to book it for them, this rose to 30% for those under the age of 24. One of the major reasons for this is the confidence we’re able to give – whether for something specific, or a disability or mobility request or a large group.
The power of our partners at ABTA remains strong – with over 77% recommending others to book with an ABTA member, a 5% increase over last year.
The impact of travel…
As you know, we have taken a keen interest in the impact of all our travels – whether that’s on the environment or socially. Only a couple of weeks ago, Jackie’s wide-reaching article on her observations in travelling to the Algarve over the summer, highlighted the impacts of alcohol and lack of respect of the community.
It’s therefore interesting that the countries concerns in these areas are relatively static and have been for a few years. Animal welfare remains the top concern, followed by preservation of culture and nature conservation, followed by the social impacts of the community and overtourism – somethings we’re keen to help on.
