Surfing … Riding the waves of the web
The art of booking holidays has had an extreme makeover over the last few years – with more Brits than ever before choosing to use the Internet to research, plan and book their holidays.
Gone are the days when people flocked to their local travel agent. These days, just 15 per cent of wannabe travellers take that path say The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). Instead, according to a new survey by YouGov and software company Memonic, a whopping 67 per cent of British holidaymakers head online to plan their next trip.
The YouGov survey also revealed that 74 per cent of Brits searching for holidays online spend at least two hours researching their trip, with 20 per cent of them spending over eight hours on research, hunting out the best deals and activities to occupy them once abroad. So dedicated are a further 29 per cent of holidaymakers that they copy and paste their research into a word document so they can refer to it later.
Dorian Selz, CEO of Memonic, said, “According to ABTA itself, over three quarters of the UK workforce holidayed in the 12 month period to September 2010.
“UK workers also took an average of 3.2 holidays; two in the UK and 1.2 abroad. Our research has found that 74 percent of online Brits that research holidays online are spending anywhere from at least two hours upwards researching each holiday online, with 20 percent spending eight or more hours, the equivalent of an entire working day, conducting research,” added Selz.
As for where we Brits will be heading on holiday over the coming year, ABTA has predicted that travellers will continue to seek value for money, picking hotspots such as Turkey, Syria and Abu Dhabi, as well as popular short-haul flight destinations in Europe.
Value for money is absolutely key to holidaymakers these days, with ABTA’s Travel Trends 2011 Report revealing that 74 per cent of UK travellers believe that it is the most important element of booking a trip.
However, value for money can apply to elements other than a low price – for example, Brits have discovered the economic benefits of holidaying in non-eurozone destinations. The report also predicts that lesser visited destinations – such as Northern Cyprus – could rise to the top of popular holiday spots.
ABTA Chief Executive, Mark Tanzer, said, “While cost will be high in customers’ consciousness in 2011, so is their desire to get the best experience for their money. Travel companies who pride themselves on good service and provide excellent holidays will win custom.
“Despite cutbacks, travel is still seen by the majority of Brits as an essential – even if value for money is key for 2011,” he added.
While we’re on the YouGov path, a survey carried out at the end of last year revealed that British people spend an average of 23 hours a week surfing the internet – which works out as 50 days a year spent online.
This is more than double the time spent on holiday, people! So book that trip and surf some real waves for a change.
Save on flights at www.cheapflights.co.uk.
(Image: mikebaird)
